The   Covenant 
Other  Poems 


By 

Dr.  LOUIS  SMIRNOW 

Author  of 

THE    LAST    DAYS    OF     ST.     PIERRE", 
THE    MASQUE  OF  SHAKESPEARE",  etc. 

With  an  Introduction  by 
PROFESSOR  WILLIAM  LYON  PHELPS 


1922 

The  Stratford  Co. ,  Publishers 
BOSTON 


Copyright,    1922 

The   STRATFORD  CO.,   Publishers 
Boston.   Mass. 


The  Alpine  Prp«i.  Boston.  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 


Introduction 

I  have  been  deeply  interested  in  reading  the 
Covenant  and  Other  Poems  by  my  friend,  Dr. 
Louis  Smirnow.  I  am  glad  that  he  has  collected 
these  verses  into  a  volume,  for  they  show  genu 
ine  feeling,  imaginative  power,  and  consider 
able  metrical  skill.  What  interests  me  particu 
larly  in  these  verses  is  their  point  of  view; 
they  are  born  of  white-hot  conviction,  and  are 
filled  with  true  passion,  a  passion  that  in  itself 
appears  like  a  religion,  and  that  speaks  for  and 
defends  a  race. 

It  is  exceedingly  instructive  to  me,  and  it 
ought  to  be  to  many  others,  to  enter  into  the 
spirit  of  these  poems,  and  see  how  Dr.  Smirnow 
is  in  a  way  the  spokesman  of  thousands  of 
people  who  no  doubt  think  and  feel  in  the 
manner  expressed  in  this  book. 

The  poems  naturally  differ  in  value,  but  here 
and  there  will  be  found  one  of  so  much  force  as 
to  arrest  the  reader's  attention  and  compel  him 
to  think,  and  perhaps  to  revise  some  of  his 


INTRODUCTION 

former  opinions  and  to  part  with  some  of  his 
most  cherished  prejudices. 

As  one  reader  I  am  grateful  to  the  author  for 
expressing  his  ambitions  and  convictions  with 
such  fervour  and  poetic  fire. 

William  Lyon  Phelps. 


THANKS  are  hereby  given  to  The  New  York 
American,  The  Connecticut  Magazine,  The 
Great  Southwest,  The  Jewish  Forum,  the  Jewish 
Daily  News,  and  other  Magazines  for  their 
permission  to  publish  some  of  the  poems  con 
tained  in  this  volume. 


DEDICATED  TO 

JUSTICE  Louis  D.  BBANDEIS 

Our  Guiding  Star. 

LEAD,  genial  light,  toward  our  latest  goal, 
Lead  to  our  re-discovered  land ; 

Be  you  the  guardian  of  a  nation's  soul, 
The  finger  of  God's  guiding  hand. 

And  show  the  wanderer  to  the  road  he  lost, 

Bring  Israel  to  his  home  again, 
And  let  his  blood  no  longer  be  the  cost 
Of  peace  among  his  fellow  men. 

By  The  Author. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I 

Page 
APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Lamentations 1 

The  Covenant 6 

.D'un  f?«  "inon  -pst?  .  .  7 
.D'om  N^D  ^s 10 

"He  Who  Watches  Over  Israel  Does  Not 

Slumber 12 

The  Daughter  of  the  Voice  (^lp  na)  .  14 
The  Spirit  of  Prophecy  .  .'  19 

Now  that  the  Hounds  of  War  Are  Loose     23 

Kishineff 25 

The  Bloody  Moloch  of  Christendom  .         .     27 

.n^K 30 

The  Song  of  The  Jew  .  .  .  .39 
Am  I  My  Brother's  Keeper?  .  .  .44 
Christmas  46 


CONTENTS 

Page 

The  Dance  of  the  Chief  Rabbi  of  Kishineff  51 
Mene,  Mene,  Tekel  Upharsin  .  .  .53 
The  Feast  of  Belshazzar  .  .  .  .54 
Translated  from  the  Yiddish  .  .  .56 
The  Passover  of  To-day  ....  58 
When  That  Day  Comes  ....  61 

.srn  Brsn " '  -  ....    63 

PART  II 
POEMS  OP  NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 

The  Song  of  the  Mountains        .  .67 

The  Lure  of  the  West        ....     69 

I     The  Lorelei  of  the  Prairies        .         .     69 

II     Delusion    .  ....     70 

III  Eureka      .         .  .  .71 

IV  The  Lake  of  the  Valley  of  Navajo      .     73 
V     To  the.  Lorelei  of  the  West  .     74 

An  Ode  to  the  West 75 

An  Ode  to  the  Alps 82 

An  Ode  to  the  Leman        .         .         .         .86 

Schreckhorn 89 

The  Mythen       .  ....     91 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Mont  Blanc 93 

The  Lake  of  Lucerne  .  .  .  .94 
Ships  at  Sea 96 

PART  III 

LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  POEMS 

Sanctuary 99 

Salve  Dea 103 

God  and  Man  —  A  Parable  .  .  .105 
The  Angel's  Feast  —  A  Parable  .  .110 

.c^rp  ^s  by  mm 113 

A  Snake  Song 118 

A  Parisian  Lay 120 

Ships  of  the  Sea 122 

To  -  An  Acrostic    .         .         .         .123 

"  C  'Est  Moin  Qui  Te  Ka  Lave  .  .125 
' '  I  Am  Dimpled,  Young  and  Fair  .  .  127 
Though  of  Silver  and  Gold  .  .  .128 

La  Martinique 129 

Cambronne 130 

To  Hon.  Simon  Wolf  .  .  .  .131 
Epigrams 133 


I. 

APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 


Lamentations 

GOD  has  inflicted  a  scourge  on  his  people, 
A  botch  and  a  sore  and  a  cancerous  grief, 
And  the  heart  of  the  children  of  Israel  is  aching, 
For  centuries  aching,  and  finds  no  relief. 

God  has  forsaken  the  chosen,  his  children, 
Forgotten  the  covenant  sanctioned  of  yore, 
Abandoned  his  plan  and,  recalling  his  promise, 
Imposed  the  misfortunes  we  so  much  deplore. 

A  prey  to  the  wild  boar,  the  brute  of  the  Arctic, 
A  scapegoat  abroad,  the  azazel  at  home, 
Plunder 'd  and  robbed  and  abused  and  insulted, 
From  country  to  county  we  aimlessly  roam. 

Beset  by  the  wolves  and  the  jackals  of  Europe, 
Attacked  by  the  hounds  on  the  African  plains, 
In  Asia  harassed  by  ravenous  vultures, 
The  earth  on  its  face  no  asylum  retains. 

Hence  whither  we  go  and  wherever  we  bivouac, 
The  gleam  of  our  hope  is  obscured  in  the  night ; 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Wherever  we  sojourn  and  whither  we  wander 
We  watch  out  in  vain  for  the  dawn  of  the  light. 

In  vain  twenty  centuries  passed  by  the  outposts, 
In  vain  we  have  anxiously  counted  the  grains 
As  the  sand  through  the  hourglass  sifted  and 

sifted, 
The  night  still  as  dark  and  as  starless  remains. 

The  firmament  of  Israel  is  still  unillumined, 
And  dark  overhead  is  the  threatening  vault; 
The  Promise  of  old,  the  prophetic  Messiah, 
With  the  golden  Millennium  seems  yet  to  halt. 

They  halt  on  the  outskirts  of  infinite  nature, 
Where  Time  and  Space  in  the  embryo  lie, 
Meanwhile  the  impious  children  of  Israel 
Their  God  and  Creator  begin  to  deny. 

There  is  not  a  Deity,  Science  declares  it, 
Nature  is  God  and  mankind  is  divine ! 
Thus  Arrogance  argues  itself  to  the  footlights, 
Egotistical  man  standing  first  in  the  line. 

And  I,  of  the  lowly  the  lowliest  mortal, 
Dust  of  the  dust,  yea,  worm  of  all  worms, 
In  error  and  darkness  eternally  stumbling, 
My  doctrine  the  doctrine  of  error  confirms. 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

The  doctrine  of  error !    For  who  can  encompass 
The  secrets  of  heaven  and  infinite  space? 
What  man  can  define  the  eternal,  the  endless, 
Or  tell  what  on  planets  and  stars  taketh  place  ? 

What  man  will  explain  the  enigma  of  living, 
That  riddle  of  riddles,  the  soul-centred  light  ? 
The  breath  of  the  lily,  the  snort  of  the  mammoth, 
The  glow  of  the  star  and  the  glowworm  at  night  ? 

Can  you  hold  in  your  hand  the  great  mountains 

of  Heaven, 

Or  stop  the  deep  streams  as  they  flow  to  the  seas  ? 
Can  you  count  al)  that  live  in  the  air  and  the 

waters, 
The  sand  on  the  shores  or  the  leaves  on  the  trees  ? 

Rests  the  earth  on  your  shoulders,  the  sun  on 

your  forehead  ? 
Rolls  off  from  your  tongue  the  loud  thunder 

amain  ? 
Does  the  lightning  proceed  from  your  orbits  and 

nostrils  ? 
Prepare  ye  the  snow  or  the  hail  or  the  rain  ? 

Did   your  eye  ever  fall   on  the  bound 'ries  of 
matter  ? 

[31 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Your  mind  e'er  conceive  a  beginning  or  end? 
Were  you  present  when  earth  and  the  heavens 

were  forming? 
Say  what  of  these  secrets  do  ye  understand  ? 

Declare,  if  thou  knowest,  what  Power  created 
Both  thee  and  the  worm  and  all  things  drawing 

breath  ? 

What  hand  holds  the  governing  forces  of  nature, 
And  opens  or  closes  the  portals  of  Death  1 

Oh,  I  will  strike  up  a  note  to  arouse  all  the  echoes 
That  slumber  in   woodland  and   mountain  and 

dale, 

So  that,  in  clamorous  soul-stirring  accents, 
They  may  on  the  children  of  Israel  prevail. 

With  the  horn  at  my  lips,  the  great  trumpet  of 

genius, 

I  '11  call  to  my  people  in  all  ends  of  the  earth. 
That  though  wandering,  stumbling,  despised  and 

forsaken. 
They  must  not  forget  of  their  glorious  birth. 

Though  complaining,  lamenting,  regretting,  im 
ploring, 

[4] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

They  must  not  forget  what  their  mission  has 

been,  — 

To  suffer,  to  struggle,  to  teach  and  enlighten, 
And  help  all  mankind  in  its  strife  against  sin. 


[5] 


The  Covenant 

' '  A  NATION  of  priests  and  a  holy  people, ' ' 

This  was  the  mark  themselves  and  God  have 

ScL  ) 

As  some  great  Architect  designs  a  steeple, 
Or  an  hundred-tiered,  sky-reaching  minaret, 

To  be  admired  and  gazed  at  from  below, 

And  deemed  unreachable  as  ages  go. 

Were  Mammon  to  supply  its  feet  of  clay, 

And  Moloch  lend  his  hands  begrimed  of  shame, 

Or  Greed  and  Hatred  blaze  thereto  the  way, 
Then  were  indeed  the  goal  set  all  in  vain, 
And  nations  could  in  unison  proclaim 
The  priestly  nation  as  a  thing  profane. 

But  no !  to  reach  the  all-outreaching  height 

Reared  by  the   One   who   said   "Let   there  be 
light," 

The  people  made  a  covenant  to  be 

A  blessing  unto  all  humanity ! 

To  raise  the  fallen  and  uplift  the  weak; 

To  give  sight  unto  the  blind,  —  undying  hope 

To  hopeless  ones !  to  diligently  seek 

[6] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

The  widow  and  the  orphan  who  may  grope 
In  dire  adversity,  and  succor  them  ; 
When  Persecution  rears  its  serpent  head 
That  strikes  innumerable  people  dead, 

To  then,  like  heaven's  host,  jump  in  and  stem 
The  fearful  tide,  that  it  may  not  be  said 
That  none  defended  Israel  when  he  bled. 


N  "inert 

(Pour  Forth  Thy  Wrath  Upon  The  Heathen) 

Pour  forth  thy  wrath  upon  the  heathen,  Lord, 

The  merciless,  Tartar  horde, 
And  let  thy  brimstone  on  their  heads  alight. 
The  terrors  of  thy  night, 
The  madness  of  thy  day, 
Confusion  and  dismay, 
The  Judgment  of  this  hour, 
The  force  of  thy  nameless  power, 
All  horror,  sorrow,  pain, 
The  plagues  of  Egypt,  every  bane 
Of  humankind  upon  the  Tartar  horde 
Pour  forth,  0  God,  our  Lord. 

Pour  forth  thy  wrath  upon  the  heathen,  Lord, 
The  barbarous,  savage  horde. 

[7] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Thy  tabernacle  they  destroyed, 

Thy  bride  of  purity  have  they  decoyed 

Into  a  den,  polluted  her, 
Made    her    unclean,  —  thy    Torah    and    our 

trust,  — 

Then  underfoot,  their  blood  astir 
With  bloody  strife,  they  trod  her  into  dust;  — 
Thy  Law,  thy  Light,  thy  Glory,  God, 

Into  the  dust  they  trod. 

Wherefore  we  call  on  thee  with  trembling  fear, 
Open  the  portals  of  the  seventh  heaven,  there 
Our  cry  of  grief  to  hear, 
Our  prayer, 

Our  despair: 

Send  forth  thy  flaming  vengeance,  God  our  Lord, 
Upon  the  Tartar  horde. 

Oh  God  of  Israel,  He  who  brought  us  out 
Of  Egypt,  gave  our  law  and  solved  our  doubt, 
Thy  vineyard  is  despoiled, 

Thy  purpose  foiled, 
Thy  enemy  in  triumph  goes, 
Mocking  at  our  woes, 
Thy  children  bleed 
And  no  one  gives  them  heed ; 

[8] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Therefore  we  call  to  thee,  our  fortress  and  our 

tower  of  strength, 
Withdraw  the  dams  from  thy  sea  of  wrath  and 

let 
Its  waters  overwhelm  thy  enemy  at  length, 

So  that  they  ne  'er  henceforth  forget 
That  helpless  ones  are  succored  from  above, 
That  the  despised  possess  Jehovah's  love. 

The  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac  and  the 

God  of  Jacob,  hear ! 
Before  thy  awful  throne  the  Seraphs  in  their  fear 

Prostrate  themselves  and  on  their  faces  fall ; 
The  stars  do  tremble,  every  circling  sphere 
Quakes  to  its  center  listening  to  thy  call,  — 
The  suns  all  crumble  at  the  thunder  voice, 
When  through  thy  limitless  Celestial  Hall 
Thou  makest  known  thy  incontestable  choice 
To  show  an  inexorable  hand 
In  judgment  of  our  land : 
Then  let  thy  thunder  smite  thy  foe, 

That  he  thy  strength  may  know. 
Jacob  they  devour  and  his  abode 
They  burn  and  plunder ;  on  thy  name 
They  do  not  call,  but  down  the  road 
Of  infamy  and  murder  they  advance, 

[9] 


With  simitar  and  lance, 
Their  barbarism  to  enhance,  — 
Then  let  the  fearful  flame 

Of    thy    swift    vengeance    light    upon    the 

Tartar  horde, 
So  we  beseech  thee,  God  our  Lord. 


(God  Who  Art  Full  of  Mercy). 

GOD  who  art  full  of  mercy,  from  thy  throne 
Thou  hear'st  our  supplicating  tone, 
Our  cries  of  anguish  reach  thy  ready  ear, 
Our  endless  woes  dost  ever  hear. 
Then  open  to  thy  servants  once  again 

The  sanctuary  of  thy  heart,  — 
Arrest  the  shafts  in  the  hands  of  cruel  men, 

And  stay  in  its  fatal  course  the  dart. 
Let  not  thy  enemy  exult  in  shame 
While  mocking  at  thy  name  ; 
They  blaspheme  thee  and  thine  own  house  pro 

fane, 

While  trampling  on  thy  people  with  disdain. 
A  danger  threatens  us,  behold  the  sword 
Above  our  heads  is  hanging  by  a  cord, 
And  men  their  passions  whet  and  beasts  their 
claws 

[10] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Whilst  nations  shackle  us  with  cruel  laws. 
Avert  the  danger,  then,  oh  God  our  Host, 
Lest  we  are  lost,  lest  we  are  lost. 
Be  merciful  to  us,  thy  pity  show, 
That  we  as  ever  may  thy  glory  know, 
And  to  the  world  thy  light,  as  e  'er  before, 
We  may  deliver  with  the  holy  lore. 

That  we  may  teach  thy  law  to  all  mankind, 

The  erring  and  the  blind,  — 
Thy  Law 

That  is  without  a  flaw,  — 
Give  us  the  strength,  oh  Lord  our  Host, 
Lest  we  are  lost,  lest  we  are  lost. 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


"He  Who  Watches  Over  Israel  Does 
Not  Slumber" 

HE  who  watches  over  Israel  never  slumbered, 

So  the  God's  elect  believed  and  still  believe. 
And  though  his  mortal  enemies  unnumbered 

On  him  fall  their  death-work  to  achieve; 
Though  locusts  in  their  brazen  malice  plunder 

Israel's  tent  and  shed  his  ancient  blood, 
Though    hands    barbaric,    tearing    the    scrolls 
asunder, 

Steep  God's  word  deep  in  the  crimson  flood, 
Yet  none  know  better  than  Judea  knows 
That  God  has  power  over  Israel's  foes. 

He  who  watches  over  Israel  never  slumbered, 
So  some  fear  and  so  some  others  hope. 

When  Pharaoh,  by  his  deadly  steel  encumbered, 
Vainly  tried  with  the  returning  sea  to  cope, 

When  Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  routed 
By  the  Maccabeus  of  the  world 's  renown, 

When  tyrants  met  their  doom,  when  they  who 
doubted 

[12] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Felt  God's  hand  and  saw  His  wrathful  frown, 
Then  they  perceived  that  He  who  watches  never 

sleeps, 
That  over  Israel  God  His  vigil  keeps. 

How  can  He  who  sleeps  not,  sleep  ? 

How  can  He  who  dreams  not,  dream? 
Does  not  the  Shepherd  ever  tend  his  sheep, 

The   Pilot   steer  the   ship    in   the   maddened 

stream  ? 
Israel  places  not  his  trust  in  men, 

And  earthly  powers  he  does  not  invoke ; 
The  Philistine,  the  Moor,  the  Saracen, 

Upon  his  head  the  sword  yet  never  broke 
But  that  a  greater  Hand  avenged  the  wrong, 
And  gave  the  theme  for  another  sacred  song. 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


The  Daughter  of  the  Voice 

tfnp  na) 

LOUD  blew  the  great  ram's  horn, 
And  its  deep  blast  through  space  interminable, 
From  the  zenith  to  the  nadir  went  reverberant, 

When  once  again  was  born 
The  Daughter  of  the  Voice,  discernible 
Among  the  constellations  bright  and  radiant. 
Her  body  is  the  Milky  Way,  her  head 
Rests  in  the  Great  Dog  on  a  starry  bed, 
Her  feet  repose  upon  the  Archer's  breast, 
Her  hair  floats  through  immensity.    The  rest 
Of  space  is  her  abode,  the  firmament 
Her  purple  robe,  the  sun's  habilament 
Her  garb,  and  on  her  brow  a  diadem 

Of  stars  ten-thousand  rests. 
This  is  the  Daughter  of  the  Voice  sent  forth  to 
whelm 

Mankind  with  God's  behests. 
Her  tongue  is  a  flaming  sword,  her  eyes 
Are  burning  suns,  her  face  is  God's; 
Her  words  are  thunder  in  disguise, 

[14] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

And  all  the  universe  quakes  when  her  head 

she  nods. 
This  is  the  Daughter  of  the  Voice  that  spake 

Thus  to  the  children  of  the  earth  and  said : 
' '  How  long,  Oh  how  long,  will  ye  break 

God 's  laws,  0  men  !    How  long  will  your  bread 
Be  your  brother's  flesh,  his  blood  your  drink? 
Iniquity  and  Error  on  the  brink 

Of  your  inhabitations  dwell ; 
And  in  the  midst  is  Treason,  with  every  link 

Of  Falsehood  interlocked.     The  spell 
Of  your  great  hatred,  like  a  pall, 
On  all  the  world  doth  fall  - 
Dark'ning  the  threshold  of  the  universe, 
Like  Satan's  inexterminable  curse. 
Love  is  a  stranger  at  your  gate, 

And  Wisdom  knocks  and  findeth  no  response ; 
Light  is  barred  out  from  your  estate, 

And  darkness  harbored  with  all  eagerness ; 
Reason  and  Justice  are  not  for  the  nonce 

Embraced,  but  Dogma  in  her  borrowed  dress, 
Struts  like  a  hireling  through  your  towns, 
Hid  by  your  black  ecclesiastical  gowns. 
I  seek  in  vain  the  word  which  Man  received, 
The  Law  which  he  professed  to  have  believed  ; 
In  vain  do  I  seek  each  witness  that  I  sent, 

[15] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Each  sign  from  heav'n  that  was  my  testament. 
Unto  each  Nation  have  I  appointed  a  given  task, 

Which  in  due  season  was  to  have  been  fulfilled : 
Rome  gave  I  Power,  that  she  may  unmask 

Stern  Nature,  conquer  every  race  instilled 
With  savagery,  and  teach  mankind  to  wrest 
From  death  their  life,  and  from  crude  matter  all 
its  best. 

Greece  gave  I  Beauty,  that  she  may 

The  senses  please  of  a  pleasant  day. 

^Esthetic  virtues  and  subtle  thought 

Is  the  stuff  of  which  her  crown  was  wrought. 
To  Egypt  gave  I  lore,  that  evermore 
She  may  treat  the  world  to  her  priceless  store. 
The  Franks  are  champions  of  Liberty, 
Who  bleed  and  die  so  that  the  world  be  free. 
The  Saxons  in  the  latter  day  have  made 
The  Iron  Age  of  Commerce ;  undismayed 
They  plow  the  seas,  the  earth  exhaust, 
That  no  advantages  be  lost. 
These  come  and  go,  as  purpose  needs, 

Upon  the  stage  of  life ; 
And  thus  the  fire  in  the  furnace  feeds, 

And  balanced  is  the  human  strife. 
But  out  of  the  nations  of  the  earth, 

O  Israel,  I  have  chosen  thee, 

[16] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

To  be  the  advocate  of  Truth, 
When  peoples  of  inferior  worth 

Groped  darkly  in  obscurity, 

And  worshipped  Sin  —  an  erring  Youth. 
Now  Sin  has  grown  to  hoary  age, 

Though  ever  youthful  in  her  guile, 
And  Crime,  aflame  with  mighty  rage 

Pours  all  the  venom  from  his  vial. 
Then  where 's  thy  mission,  0  Judea,  where  ? 

How   hast   thou   used   the   trust   within   thy 

hands  ? 
Didst  thou  attempt  my  word  of  mouth  declare, 

Or  bring  my  standard  into  foreign  lands  ? 
Oh,  in  the  thick  and  gloom  of  Night, 
Didst  thou  erect  my  beacon-light? 
Nay,  thorns  upon  the  path, 
Barbarians'  hostile  wrath, 
Pain,  adverse  circumstance, 
Repulsed  thee,  sent  thee  hence 
Complaining  of  thy  lot  — 
Thy  holy  work  forgot. 
What  though  a  thorn  be  on  the  way, 
Though  persecution  holdeth  sway? 
Does  not  God 's  work  lead  to  a  better  Day, 
Which  would,  like  balm,  thy  pain  allay? 
Oh  Israel,  know  thy  mission  once  again, 

[17] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

And  by  the  wayside  do  not  fall ; 
To  teach  Truth,  Justice,  Love  and  Light  to  men 

Be  thy  appointed,  special  call. 
Rouse  from  thy  slumber,  shake  thy  dream  away, 
And  enter  on  the  great,  eternal  Day." 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 


The  Spirit  of  Prophecy 

THE  WORD  which  came  to  me  from  the  dismal 

mount 

Of  Horeb  where  from  out  the  hidden  fount 
Of  Wisdom,  dry  and  unprofitable  to  all  else, 
The  Spirit  of  Prophecy  quaffs  prescience  and 

compels 

Dumb  stones  their  secrets  to  impart, 
Sapping  out  of  earth's  deep-centered  heart 
Foreknowledge  of  events,  rare  foresight,  more 
To  be  desired  than  all  the  world's  combined  lore. 
From  out  of  the  silence  of  the  centuries 
The  Word  came  like  a  wind  among  the  trees, 
Like  tempests  on  the  waves,  like  thunder  in  the 

sky, 

O'erwhelming  me  with  this  o'erpowering  cry: 
"Arise  thou  from  thy  slothful  indolence 
And  go  to  the  abodes  of  men !    Rank  arrogance 
And  self-conceit  will  sneer  and  laugh  in  scorn. 
But  say  unto  them  the  man  is  yet  unborn 
Who  laughs  and  does  not  weep  in  consequence ; 
Who  spends  and  rues  not  his  extravagance ; 

[19] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Who,  spitting  venom,  does  not  swallow  some ; 

Who  spreads  a  pest  and  suffers  not  therefrom. 

Say  unto  them :    A  prophet  shall  arise 

Of  lowly  birth,  clad  in  the  modern  guise, 

But  armed  with  the  old  spirit  of  prophetic  sight 

Which  penetrates  the  all-impenetrable  night." 

And  further  saith  the  Word  which  came  to  mo 
From  Iloreb  with  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy. 
"Arise  and  go  to  the  nations  of  the  earth 
Declaring:    There  among  you,  low  of  birtli 
And  mean  in  origin,  a  country  lies 
That  scoffs  at  God  and  His  authority  denies. 
Its  life  is  half  barbaric  and  its  ways 
Have  prototypes  in  medieval  days. 
Cruel  its  laws  and  crude  its  government, 
Its  courts  a  jest  of  savage  merriment ; 
Bribery  and  usury  there  holdeth  sway, 
While  truth  and  liberty  are  led  astray. 
Chained  to  a  rock  the  true  religion  lies, 
A  captive  in  unmerited  disguise, 
While  foul  Idolatry,  the  ancient  pest, 
Is  deeply  cherished  in  this  nation's  breast. 
But  from  the  center  of  its  depth,  before 
The  hand  on  the  Centurial  clock  explore 
The  face,  a  great  convulsion  shall  upheave, 
And  shake  the  land's  foundation  to  retrieve 

[20] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Its  foregone  wrongs ;  the  agony  of  death 

Shall    seize    this    monster    in    its    length    and 

breadth,  — 

This  double-headed  octopus  whose  heart 
In  Europe  is  confined,  whose  bulky  part 
In  Asia  resteth,  and  whose  frigid  tail 
Lies  in  the  arctics  whence  the  icebergs  hail. 
Its  bowels  will  be  gnawed  by  inner  strife, 
And  everywhere  rebellion  will  be  rife. 
Its  one  head  by  a  plague  will  be  attacked, 
Its  second  by  the  enemy  will  be  sacked ; 
One  tenth  part  of  the  first  will  fall  in  death, 
The  second,  plundered  erst,  will  in  the  breath 
Of  a  conflagration  be  consumed, 
As  once  it  was,  that  life  be  not  resumed 
For  a  year  and  a  day.    Then  in  the  wilderness 
The  nation  will  cry  out  in  its  distress, 
But  it  will  not  avail.    Woe  be  to 
The  city,  the  mother  of  bandits,  that  grew 
Fat  upon  the  blood  of  the  innocent, 
Woe  to  the  city  grown  rich  and  opulent, 
To  Babylon,  a  harlot  'mong  harlots,  be  woe, 
For  out  of  her  own  craven  heart  will  grow 
The  Terror  which  will  smite  her  and  enslave 
Her,  finally  to  rise  above  her  grave. 

[21] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Her  poison  also  gives  the  antidote, 
Her  rancor,  laying  low  whome'er  it  smote, 
Will  back  rebound  upon  her  head, 
And  number  her  with  the  dead!" 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 


Now  That  the  Hounds  of  War  Are  Loose 

Now  that  the  hounds  of  War  are  loose, 

And  the  mantle  of  Death  is  spread  in  the  sky, 
While  the  sword  and  the  cannon  will  offer  no 

truce, 
And  the  earth  through  blood  will  cease  to  be 

dry; 
Ruin,    Pestilence,    Famine,   black   spectres   and 

grim, 

Their  skeleton-arms  will  stretch  forth  in  the  dim 
Obscure  darkness  to  seize  on  their  prey, 
May  they  find  the  true  foe,  so  we  pray, 
May  they  grasp  the  real  foe  that  makes  sorrow 

and  woe, 
And  renders  for  myriads  a  night  of  their  day. 


y  the  agents  of  Vengeance  discover  the  camp 
Where    Corruption    and    Vice    and    Iniquity 

dwell, 
Where  the  old  feudal  tyranny  reigns,  and  the 

lamp 

Of  the  world  is  extinguished,  the  deep-sound 
ing  knell 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

In  the  steeple  resoundeth  a  dirge  every  eve 

For  the   corpses   which   daily    the    grave   doth 

receive ; 

Oh,  ye  agents  of  Vengeance,  take  heed 

Of  the  thousands  of  victims  who  bleed 

On  the  altar  of  Crime,  irrespective  of  time, 

Take  heed  and  repay  to  the  culprits  their  meed. 

Chains,  chains  of  the  exiled  ring  sharp  in  the  air, 

As  over  the  snow-mounds  they  wearily  go, 
Blood,  the  blood  of  the  innoccent  calls  every 
where, 

And  would  not  be  silenced  whatever  you  do : 
Gaunt  the  jackal  howls  lone  at  the  brink  of  the 

grave, 
And    the    vultures    their    carrion    screechingly 

crave, 

While  the  hounds  of  grim  War  are  at  large, 
To  sweep  down  in  their  terrible  charge ; 
That  jackal  and  vulture  be  fed  on  mountains 

and  mountains  of  dead, 

The  guilty,  the  craven,  that  debt  must  dis 
charge. 


[24] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 


Kishineff! 

GRIM,  gaunt  and  snarling  stands  the  jackal  o'er 
the  grave, 

Hungering  for  the  dead  beneath  the  sod, 
Where,  shrieking  with  the  wind  and  rising  wave, 

He  howls  defiance  both  at  man  and  God ! 

Far  off  the  offing  rolls  the  pirate  ship 

That  trained  its  hellish  engines  on  the  shore, 

Holding  a  city  in  its  iron  grip, 
And  terror  and  rapacity  in  store. 

From  out  the  east  comes  a  maliferous  breath 
And  poisons  many  thousands  through  the  land, 

When  pestilence,  the  staunchest  friend  of  death, 
Leaves  tracks  as  barren  as  the  desert  sand. 

So  Kishineff,  the  foulest  of  the  foul, 

The  ghoul  of  all  the  ghouls  that  rob  the  graves, 
Stands  obnoxious,  like  a  thousand  fiends  that 
howl 

Perdition  down  among  the  hell-bound  caves. 

[25] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

So  Kishineff  o'ershadows  history's  page, 

And  stands  a  blot  and  shame  to  all  the  world ; 

The  cursed  name  remains  a  curse  to  our  age, 
A  malediction  by  the  devil  hurled. 


[26] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 


The  Bloody  Moloch  of  Christendom 

DUMB    with    astonishment    and    stricken    with 

despair, 
Deeply  engulfed  in  most  impotent  rage, 

And  bleeding  at  heart  with  my  heart's  last 

drop, 
I  saw  them,  like  the  harpies  from  Olympus 

top, 

Swoop  down  with  a  force  naught  could  assuage 
On  Israel's  tent,  devouring,  killing  everywhere. 
With    ravaging    madness    came    the    maddened 

mob, 

Dressed  in  a  varied  mottled  garb, 
Clowns,  apes  and  scoundrels  from  the  depths  of 

hell, 
Hordes  on  hordes  of  savages  from  places  none 

can  tell, 
Down  from  the  ragged  Caucasus  heights 

Where  Cossacks  breed  their  hellish  brood, 
Up  from  the  valleys  of  the  starless  nights 

Where  Slavish  races  sing  slaves'  interlude, 
From  the  Ural  mountains  in  the  north, 

[27] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

From  every  sea-shore,  every  valley,  every  den, 
Wild,  howling  Tartars  issued  forth,  — 

Fiends  in  the  outward  semblances  of  men,  — 
With  rapine  and  fire  and  brutal  force, 
Down  on  their  destructive  course. 
Oh,  God  of  Justice,  God  of  Reason, 
Are  these  thy  instruments  of  vengeance  or  just 

wrath  ? 
Smite  us  with  thunder,  let  thy  lightning  seize  on 

Thy  servants,  let  the  perilous  path 
Down  to  Gehenna  be  as  thick  with  us  and  ours 
As  heaven  is  with  stars,  but  save  us  from  the 

pow'rs 
Of  Russia's  mob,  which,  vampire-like, 

Wastes  all  the  blood  it  cannot  drink. 
With  cruel  ferocity  they  strike 

Down  ruthlessly  the  young  and  old, 
Thy  aged  patriarchs,  0  Lord,  they  treat 
Indignantly,  treading  beneath  their  feet 
The  hoar}'  heads  and  beards  as  white  as  snow ; 
Thy  daughters,  Lord,  they  basely  sink 

To  depths  of  misery  that  never  can  be  told. 
Wail,  0  Israel,  wail !    Woe  to  Judea,  woe! 
Here  is  a  turning  point  in  history, 
Here  is  the  crowning  point  of  Infamy ; 
Imperial  Rome  in  all  her  cruelty 

[28] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Conceived  not  half  this  inhumanity. 
Hide,  O  Sun,  thy  face, 

And  thou,  O  pale-faced  Moon, 
Reigning  at  high  noon, 
Forbear  to  look  on  man's  disgrace, 
The  stars  shall  be  extinguished,  every  grace 
Of  God  may  God  in  justice  now  efface, 
Because  the  world  stood  by 
And  heeded  not  our  cry, 
The  world  stood  and  beheld 
How  innocents  were  felled, 

Plow  infants  ruthlessly  were  killed, 

E'en  in  their  mothers'  wombs, 
How  thousand  and  ten  thousand  martyrs 

filled 

Untimely  tombs, 
And  yet  the  world  said  naught 
'Gainst  all  the  carnage  wrought, 
The  Christian  world  professing  peace, 
Professing  love,  professing  tolerance, 
(Their  bloody  Moloch  over  all  the  land 
Presiding  with  a  high  and  treacherous  hand), 

Therefore  may  God  in  His  infinite  mercy  cease 
To  look  upon  this  earth,  but  wither  it  with  a 
glance. 

[29] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


oruo  nV  p«  rpr6  by  nnyo-rt 
^  r6  vn  ni  11:2  rrjn 


I  AM  the  servant  of  the  Lord, 

Come  out  of  the  wilderness  of  time, 
Out  from  the  immensity  of  space, 
Adown  the  Milky  Way,  the  ford 

Of  heaven,  where,  with  songs  sublime, 
The  angels  cross  the  hemispheres  ; 
There  where  the  rainbows  interlace, 

Where  stars  are  made,   where  years  on 

years 

Are  piled,  past,  present  and  to  be, 
'Tis  there  abideth  Prophecy. 
Red  lightning  there  resideth,  there 
The  thunder's  seat  ariseth,  while 
The  surging  waves  of  Chaos  tear 

Encroachingly  at  heaven's  sides, 
Howling  response  at  their  denial 
Of  entrance,  as  the  raging  tides 
Of  sulphurous  clouds  in  reeking  foam 
Rise  clear  upon  the  spangled  dome. 
Then  out  of  the  densest  darkness  came 
A  voice  that  silenced  all  and  made  my  soul  re 
joice  ; 

[30] 


"Peace,   ye   turbulent   elements,"    and   silence 

reigned, 

And  all  the  hosts  were  in  their  wrath  restrained. 
But  suddenly  tremendous  thunder  roared, 

And  all  the  universe  was  filled  therewith, 
Whilst  lightning's  flashes  like  a  deluge  poured 
From  every  side,  the  elements  were  all 
In  turmoil,  like  a  seething  pot, 
When  suddenly  there  was  revealed  to  me, 

Built  out  of  one  vast  ebon  monolith, 
A  glory  and  majesty  that  might  appall 

The  stoutest  heart,  though  mine  it  frightened 

not, 

There  was  revealed  to  me 
The  awful  seat  of  PROPHECY. 
High  on  the  clouds  it  lay, 
On  sure  and  safe  foundation, 
A  thing  of  consternation 
To  the  stars  upon  the  Way. 
Chaos  and  Confusion  tumbled  all  around, 
And  sulphurous  fumes  did  saturate  the  ground, 
Whilst,  as  I  stood  astonied,  I  have  heard 
These   wondrous   words  which   all  the  heavens 
stirred : 

' '  How  desolate  is  now  become 

My  sweet-scented  garden  of  roses; 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

How  doth  the  fiend  destroy  the  calm 

Of  the  home  where  my  first-born  reposes ! 

"God  made  him  triumphant  of  old, 
To  lead  all  the  nations  in  glory ; 

His  fame  and  achievements  were  told 
In  fable  and  legend  and  story. 

"He  made  him  exalted  and  great, 

And  raised  him  above  all  the  races ; 

He  made  him  the  guard  of  His  Gate,  — 
The  highest  in  all  the  high  places. 

' '  He  sat  at  the  head  of  the  feast, 

When  nations  have  gather'd  around  him; 
He  rose  like  the  sun  in  the  east, 

And  melted  the  fetters  that  bound  him. 

' '  But  now  came  the  Boar  from  the  North, 
Devouring  the  vineyard  God  planted,  — 

The  wild  boar  in  hordes  issued  forth, 

Defying  the  rights  Thou  hast  granted. 

"With  cruelty  never  surpassed, 

With  baseness  and  malice  and  treason, 

They  crushed  out  the  life  to  the  last, 

And  trampled  on  Justice  and  Reason. 

"The  delicate  woman  lay  dead 

On  the  highways  for  strangers  to  gaze  on ; 

[32] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Young  children  and  infants  were  bled, 

Like  lambs  on  the  pastures  they  graze  on. 

' '  And  Israel 's  defenders  lay  low, 

Where  tall,  waving  bulrushes  flourish ; 

0  'er  the  graves  of  the  heroes  will  grow 

Coarse  weeds  full  of  venom  to  nourish 

' '  Fat  worms  and  rank  serpents  and  toads,  — 
The  souls  of  the  bloody  assassins,  — 

For  the  victor  shall  fall  in  the  roads 

As   he    learns,    though   too   late,    of   God's 
lessons. 

"But  now,  with  misfortunes  increased, 
Sits  Zion  engulfed  in  her  sorrow; 

By  throes  of  great  suffering  seized, 

She  fears  the  gray  dawn  of  the  morrow. 

"How  solitary  sitteth  the  queen 

At  the  threshold  of  various  nations; 

She  who  sat  great  and  serene,  — 

A  star  to  her  eastern  relations. 

' '  She  weepeth  alone  in  the  night, 

And  no  one  comes  forth  to  console  her ; 

[33] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

She  is  sad  and  distrought  in  her  plight, 

And  none  can  be  found  to  condole  her. 

"In  sackloth  and  ashes  is  dressed 

The  beautiful  daughter  of  Zion, 
For  her  children,  aggrieved  and  oppressed, 

Are  fallen  a  prey  to  the  Lion." 

So  ran  the   thunderous  words  that  shook  the 

world, 

Like  the  roaring  of  a  thousand  cataracts, 
And  all  in  heaven  in  a  vortex  whirled, 

As  if  around  the  center  of  a  storm ; 
The  ways  of  God  and  all  his  marvelous  acts 

Being  manifest  in  an  infinity  of  form, 
I  fell  upon  my  face  in  fear  and  awe, 
Pull  well  believing  all  I  heard  and  saw. 
"Oh,  wonder  of  all  wonders,"  said  I,  "still  is 

heard 

The  prophet  Jeremiah's  stirring  word,  — 
The  grand  old  man,  the  exile  seer, 
Who  prophesied  without  regard  or  fear, 
Who  told  the  truth,  regardless  of  the  kings, 
Foretelling  of  a  thousand  coming  things. 
He  first,  he  last,  at  all  times  he, 

[34] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

The  master  mind  in  prophecy. 

As  on  the  earth  lamenting  Israel's  fall, 

So  now  in  heav'n  he  answers  to  the  call ;  — 

Bemoaning  there  Jerusalem's  disgrace,— 

Here  Israel's  wanderings  from  place  to  place." 

"My  master,"  said  I,  "pray  incline  thine  ear 

To  one  of  the  humblest  stragglers  of  thy  fold. 
I  am  a  stranger  in  these  realms,  this  sphere 

Is  far  removed  from  whence  I  hail ; 
There,  upon  the  earth,  doth  gloom  and  cold 
And  deepest  ignorance  prevail,  - 
The  darkness  doth  the  night  assail ! 
The  sons  of  Israel  wander  still  about, 

In  darkness  and  in  doubt ; 
From  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  globe, 

Clad  in  the  mourner's  robe ;  — 
Driven  from  place  to  place,  from  town  to  town, 

Abused  by  every  clown ; 
Insulted,  robbed  and  murdered,  bled  to  death, 

And  poisoned  at  each  breath. 
Oh  thou,  far-seeing  seer  who  knowest  all, 
From  what  has  been  to  that  which  will  befall, 
Declare  it  unto  me,  I  pray, 
When  will  be  the  dawning  of  the  Day  ? 
From  thy  great  seat  of  prophecy, 
This  wondrous  throne  of  ebony, 

[35] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Declare  to  me  the  secrets  of  thy  soul ; 
When  will  our  redemption  be, 
What  is  Israel's  destiny, 

And  when  will  Juda  come  unto  his  goal  ? 
Oh,  conjure  up  both  day  and  night, 
To  give  me  this  prophetic  sight." 

To  which  came  the  reply, 
Out  of  the  fathomless  sky, 
With  accompanying  thunder  and  lightning  and 

fearful  noise, 

In  Jeremiah  the  prophet's  powerful  voice, 
Whilst  all  the  servants  of  the  Lord  stood  'round, 
With  their  heads  inclining  to  the  ground,  — 
Silently  listening  to  what  he  said, 
As  if  they  were  the  armies  of  the  dead. 
"My  son!    Return  and  say  unto  all  men: 

As  surely  as  He  teareth  down  so  shall  He  build. 
The  father  faileth  not  his  son,  and  when 

The  proper  time  arrives  then  is  His  word  ful 
filled. 

The  eagle  carries  her  fledglings  o'er  the  crags, 
And  in  her  guarded  cave  the  she-lion  shields 

her  whelps, 

The  young  deer  get   their  swiftness   from   the 
stags, 

[36] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

And  every  creature  every  other  helps. 
Then    can   you   doubt   that    God    His   children 

guards, 

Or  that  He  anxiously  His  flock  regards  ? 
Return  to  the  abodes  of  men  and  say : 

Thus  saith  God,  through  His  prophets  and  His 

seers ; 

Surely  there  will  come  the  Judgment  Day, 
Three   months   elapsing,   reckoning   as   many 

years 

By  centuries  as  days,  for  thus  is  time 
Computed  here  in  heav'n.    Then  every  crime 
Shall  be  accounted  for  and  every  deed 
Adjudged.    Assassins  and  murderers  shall  bleed 
From  their  own  veins,  and  trebly  lose  the  blood 

they  spilled; 

Poisoners  shall  drink  the  poison  they  distilled 
For  others ;  kings  shall  meet  their  doom ; 
But  the  just  and  upright  shall  go  free. 
In  God 's  great  universe  there  will  be  room 

For  all  who  merit  immortality, 
But  they  who  merit  not  shall  surely  be  destroyed. 
And  Israel  shall  ascend ;  they  who  annoyed 
Him,     like     a    lamp    so    shall    their    life    be 

quenched,  — 
For  God's  own  flock  shall  surely  be  avenged. 

[37] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Then  Israel's  mission  plainly  will  appear, 
Dear  to  each  heart,  and  as  the  sunshine  clear. 
Peace,  then,  shall  be  the  arbiter,  and  truth 
And  love  shall  flourish  in  perennial  youth. 

Zion  shall  be  built  again, 

And  honored  of  all  men ; 

God's  Temple  will  arise,  most  wonderful   and 
grand, 

Forever  then  to  stand, 
Untouched  and  unassailed  by  mortal  hand." 


[38] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 


The  Song  of  the  Jew 

' '  OH,  hear  ye,  O  Nations,  give  ear  all  ye  men, 
To  a  song  never  uttered,  nor  written  by  pen. 
It  is  writ  in  the  stars  and  was  culled  from  the 

sun 

Long  before  the  grey  phantoms  of  ages  begun. 
When  Creation  emerged  from  the  womb  of  the 

Deep, 

And  all  nature  awoke  from  Eternity's  sleep, 
When  the  sun  limned  the  sky  with  the  first  rosy 

morn, 

Then  all  Birth  saw  me  first  of  the  first  to  be  born. 
And  I  builded  for  Pharaoh  great  cities  of  yore, 
And  his  pyramids  greater  than  any  before ; 
And  I  cast  my  mute  harp  in  the  Babylon  stream, 
And  I  served  mistress  Rome  in  her  glitter  and 

gleam : 

Alexander  and  Caesar  and  Titus  accurs'd 
Drank  the  blood  from  my  veins  to  diminish  their 

thirst. 
I  have  taught  the  Great  Law  to  all  peoples,  in 

sooth, 

[39] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Freely   shedding   my   blood    in    defense    of   the 
Truth ; 

When  the  nations  served  idols  of  horror  and 
shame, 

Then  I  spoke  and  proclaimed  the  ineffable  Name  ! 

All   abominations   I    fought,    and    I    conquered 
them  all, 

And  of  Mammon  and  Moloch  accomplished  the 
fall. 

The  All-Justice   I   taught  and   the  law   of  the 
Right, 

When  the  world  only  knew  and  regarded  but 

Might. 

"When  the  earth  was  yet  young  and  mankind 
newly  born, 

And  the  dark  veil  of  History  just  had  been  torn, 

When  the  fiercest  of  passions  and  murder  and 
strife 

Had  disfigured  the  features  of  primitive  life, 

Then  I  came  full  of  pow'r,  like  the  north  wind 
of  old, 

And  upheld  the  Commandments  to  numbers  un 
told  ;  - 

'Thou   shalt   not,'   I   shrieked,    like   the   lion    1 
roared, 

And  I  curs'd  and  I  threatened,  I  begged  and  im 
plored, 

[40] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Till  the  nations  all  heeded  my  precept  of  love, 
And  feared  the  great  wrath  of  Jehovah  above. 
"I  beheld  how  great  empires  and  kingdoms 

arose, 
And  I  saw  their  decline,  and  the  pride  of  my 

foes 
I     saw    humbled    to    dust     and     their    cities 

destroyed,  — 

Even  Rome  could  not  long  her  destruction  avoid. 
Assyria,  Babylon,  Persia,  Greece, 
And  Media,  Carthage,  all  haters  of  peace, 
The  Philistines,  Celts,  Huns,  the  Goths,  Romans 

and  Gauls, 

All  have  vanished  and  left  only  tottering  walls. 
Nigh  the  whole  world  was  lost,  when  to  succor 

and  save, 
To  half  mankind  an  Ideal,  to  half  a  God  I  gave. 

' '  But  now  as  I  sit  here,  alone  and  forlorn, 
Very  often  I  wish  I  had  never  been  born, 
For  of  all  of  my  travail,  my  sorrow  and  pain, 
Oh,  can  ye,  0  nations,  discover  my  gain? 
Ye  tread  on  my  beard  and  ye  spit  in  my  face, 
And  ye  clothe  me  in  chains  and  the  badge  of 

disgrace. 

And  ye  come  and  advise  me  to  lose  myself  quite, 
And  assimilate  with  the  dark  shadows  of  night. 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

As  well  to  exhort  the  Gulf  Stream  to  be  mixed 
With  the  cold,  icy  ocean  wherein  it  is  fixed ; 
Or  advise  in  the  heavens  the  great  Milky  Way 
To  be  lost  in  the  stars  that  most  everywhere  lay. 
"Oh,  no!    If  true  justice  still  lingers  on  earth, 
You  will  give  me  the  home  that  was  mine  from 

my  birth. 

Return  me  the  land  where  I  battled  and  fought, 
The  land  every  inch  of  which  dearly  T  bought. 
Very  dearly  I  bought  with  the  blood  of  my  veins, 
Where  I  struggled  for  freedom  and  shattered  my 

chains  ; 
Where  I  strove  with  and  conquer 'd  wild  races  of 

men, 

Gog-Magog,  the  giants,  I  drove  from  their  den ; 
Where   I  worshipped  my  God  and   expounded 

His  Law, 
And  where  first  the  great  light  of  His  Wisdom  I 

saw. 

"In  that  land  were  my  fathers  for  ages  in 
terred, 
And  the  prophets  and  sages  who  lived  by  the 

Word. 
There  the  graves  of  my  martyrs  abound  on  the 

plains, 

[421 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

And  the  roads  are  yet  strewn  with  my  children's 
remains ! 

Every  stone  in  that  land  is  a  tear  from  my  eye, 

In  its  mountains  still  lingers  the  breath  of  my 
sigh, 

In  its  forests  my  wailing  can  yet  be  discerned,  — 

Lives  a  soul  who  would  say  thus :  '  I  am  not  con 
cerned'? 

Then  return  me  my  country!  If  justice  yet 
dwell 

Here  on  earth,  0  return  me,  return  my  Beth-el ! ' ' 


[43] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


Am  I  My  Brother's  Keeper? 

"AM  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  asked  the  man 
Just  as  the  first  crime  and  the  world  began. 
And  when  his  brother's  blood  yet  warmed  the 

sod, 

He  thought  with  vain  words  to  deceive  his  God. 
"What  hast  thou  done?"  was  asked  in  thunder 

sound, 
"Thy    brother's    blood    cries    to    me    from    the 

ground. 

Be,  therefore,  banished  from  the  earth  that  durst 
Yield  naught  to  thee,  a  fugitive  accurs'd. 
The  soil  thou  till  'st  be  barren  in  thy  hands, 
As  thou  goest  hungry  through  the  many  lands, 
With  this  mark  on  thy  forehead  to  explain 
To  man  and  beast  the  brother-slayer,  Cain." 

"Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  cries  the  lord 
Who     wades,     knee-deep,     through     his     great 

treasure-hoard. 

In  every  age  and  every  passing  day 
Innumerable  men  are  heard  to  say : 
' '  What  care  have  I  that  others  starve  or  die  ? 

[44] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Shall  pity  at  my  door  forever  lie  ? 

Each  for  himself ;  —  concern  themselves  with  me 

Would  none ;  I  therefore  must  indifferent  be. 

This  day  bread  have  I  eaten,  wine  I  drank,  — 

1  loved  and  lived,  —  but  whom  have  I  to  thank  ? 

None  me  therewith  provided,  —  why  should  I 

Of  earthly  good  to  other  men  supply? 

'Tis  all  the  same,  so  long  I  suffer  not, 

If  all  the  world  by  God  shall  be  forgot, 

And  I  will  sponsor  be  for  none  beside, 

But  guard  no  hurt  or  harm  to  me  betide." 

Oh,  million-armed  and  million-headed  Cain, 
How  many  brothers  coldly  have  you  slain? 
Pray,  —  will  you  say  ?  —  how  will  you  answer 

when 

The  Great  Judge  His  account  will  have  of  men  ? 
What  will  you  say  when  it  is  asked  of  you, 
"Where  is  thy  brother,  Cain,  —  what  didst  thou 

do?" 

Then  on  your  forehead  will  a  sign  be  placed, 
To  mark  the  fratricide  and  the  disgraced, 
And  point  you  out  to  mankind  and  the  brute 
As  of  foul  crime  the  full  and  ripened  fruit. 
Then  even  wild-beasts  shall  your  flesh  disdain, 
And  you  will  live,  repentless,  in  eternal  pain. 

[451 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


Christmas 

"  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  ivill  give  you  rest." 

PEAL  after  peal  went  forth  from  the  organs  re 
sounding, 

And  clear  across  the  earth  reached  the  jubi 
lant  song, 
Chimes'  exquisite  melodies  rose  and,  from  heaven 

rebounding, 
Stirred  to  its  depths  in  prayer  the  worshipping 

throng. 
Gilded    domes    shone    in    splendor    outdazzling 

the  sunshine, 

And  the  altars  in  laces  of  gold  were  bedecked  ; 
And  of  gold  were  the  crosses,  and  many  an  en 
sign 

Was  wrought  of  rare  fabric  and  satin  select. 
And    golden-mouthed     preachers     gold-sermons 

delivered, 

And  gout-aristocracy  listened  them  through  ; 
Kings  and  Queens  and  their  minions  with  pur 
pose  palavered 

[46] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

As  they  hymned  of  the  Son  of  Man,  faithful 

and  true. 
It  was  Christmas  the  world  o'er,  and  millions 

unnumbered 

Rejoiced  in  the  birth  of  the  Man-God,  the  Son ! 
It  was  Christmas,  —  the  earth  with  deep  snow 

was  encumbered, 
And  the  cold  grew  yet  colder  in  spite  of  the 

sun. 
To  earth's  outermost  boundaries  the  bread-lines 

extended, 
Where  ragged  men  begged  all  in  vain  for  a 

crust ! 
And  where,  man  against  man,  hunger-mad,  they 

defended 
Their  last  shreds  of  life,  although  crushed  to 

the  dust. 
Deep  the  pit  yawned  beneath  them,  like  chasms 

unmeasured, 

And  hell  stood  wide  open  to  welcome  them  all ! 
And    the    little    ones    whom    the    great    Savior 

treasured 
Were  come  to  the  brink  where  to  stand  is  to 

fall. 

And  the  widows  and  orphans  were  lone  in  their 
sorrow, 

[47] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

And  Hunger  and  Grief  stalked  supreme  in  the 

lands, 

A  signal  of  yesterday,  a  sign  for  the  morrow,  — 
Despair's  ominous  footprints  engraved  in  the 

sands. 
But  from  church  and  Cathedral  resounded  the 

story 

In  music  unequalled  of  Him  who  was  born  ; 
To  the  Savior  of  men  they  sang  Glory  and  Glory, 
While  His  image  with  diamonds  and  gold  they 

adorn. 
Had  they  harked  they  could  hear  as  on  wings 

of  the  tempest 

In  anger  a  voice  from  the  heavens  descend, 
Which  thus  spake  with  the  thunder:  "0  Satan 

still  temptest 
The  Lord  thou,  —  and  what  can   it  bode  or 

portend 
But  destruction  and  death  and  the  end  of  all 

things, 
And    the    price    thy    rebellion    and    arrogance 

brings? 

And  ye  men  of  the  earth  and  ye  women  of  cul 
ture, 

Who  fall  at  a  fetich  and  kneel  at  a  shrine, 
Go,  dwell  with  the  wolf  and  be  kin  to  the  vul 
ture, 

[48] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

But  tempt  not  your  God,  lest  His  anger  divine 
Shall  devour  you,  —  involve  you  in  every  dis 
aster 

And  cast  you  for  aye  in  the  fiery  sea ! 
Though  ye  build  me  great  temples  of  rare  ala 
baster, 

And  altars  of  gold  ye  erect  unto  me, 
Yet  the  words  of  the  Lord  and  the  works  of  the 

Master 

You  consign  to  the  depths  of  Oblivion's  sea. 
Oh,  answer  and  say  what  became  of  my  teaching, 
And  what  of  the  seed  that  I  sowed  with  my 

blood  ? 

The  Light  and  the  Truth  which,  through  cen 
turies  reaching, 
Was   to   circle   the   world  like   the  primitive 

flood? 
For  when  I  am  a-hungered,  then  give  ye  me 

meat? 
Thirsty,  and  give  ye  me  drink  ?    A  stranger  with 

bleeding  feet, 

And  take  ye  me  in  ?    Naked,  and  clothe  ye  me  ? 
Sick,  and  in  prison,  and  visit  ye  me? 
And  Oh !    All  the  oceans  of  blood  and  the  oceans 

of  tears 

That  these  centuries  past  in  my  name  ye  have 
shed,  — 

[49] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

How  answer  ye,  vipers,  beyond  the  frontiers 
Of  the  countries  that  reek  in  their  garments  of 

red! 

Shall  I  take  for  your  answer  the  altars  of  silver, 
The  gold-embossed  symbols  of  Rome  and  of 

Greece ; 

The  booty  and  plunder  your  pirates  deliver 
As  the  price  of  your  heaven,  your  ransom  of 

Peace  ? 

Then  woe  to  ye,  men,  and  your  lost  habitations, 
For   the    Angel    of    Death   shall    inherit    the 

earth!" 

And  this  is  the  Word  for  the  ear  of  all  nations 
On  the  glorious  day  of  the  Savior's  birth. 


[So] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 


The  Dance  of  the  Chief  Rabbi  of 
Kishineff 

THE  Russian  mob,  a  frenzied  horde,  — 

The  minions  of  the  Czar, 
Came  with  the  pike  and  knife  and  sword, 

Upon  their  warlike  car. 

They  spied  the  gentle  Rabbi  Chief, 

A  venerable  sire, 
And  took  to  mock  his  pain  and  grief 

With  song  and  tuneful  lyre. 

They  danced  with  him  the  dance  of  death, 
And  made  him  join  their  gang ; 

And  this  the  song,  with  bated  breath, 
They  and  the  Rabbi  sang. 

' '  Oh  Russia,  we  dance  a  dance 

That  can  no  longer  cease ; 
The  devil  weaveth  this  romance, 

Infernal  friends  to  please. 

We're  dancing,  are  dancing. 

[Si] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

"  Tis  human  vultures  dancing  here, 

With  an  old  bird  ensnared ; 
Oh  come,  ye  fiends  of  hell,  appear ! 

Our  work  shall  be  compared ! 

We're  dancing,  are  dancing. 

' '  The  harpies  danced  to  flute  and  lyre, 
AVhen  blood  ran  like  the  sea ; 

We  dance  the  tune  of  sword  and  fire, 
And  blood  runs  just  as  free. 

We're  dancing,  are  dancing. 

"Oh,  Russia,  we  dance  thy  dance, 

Beside  thy  open  grave ; 
We  dance  away  thy  final  chance 

Thy  worthless  self  to  save. 

We're  dancing,  are  dancing. 

' '  We  dance  upon  thy  funeral  pyre, 
That  crackles  now  and  burns ; 

Behold  the  red  hand  rising  higher,  — 
The  Revolution  turns!  — 

We're  dancing,  are  dancing." 


Mene,  Mene,  Tekel,  Upharsin 

IT  is  counted,  counted  and  weighed. 

The  tyrant's  deeds 
Before  the  highest  Judge  are  laid. 

Let  him  beware 
The  awakened  wrath  of  God, 

Who  makes  or  breaks 
The  universe  with  a  nod. 

Mene,  mene,  counted  are 

Thy  days  on  earth; 
Thy  works  are  weighed,  0  fallen  star,- 

God  knows  thy  worth. 
Thy  kingdom  shall  divided  be 

By  heathen  hordes; 
And  all  shall  raise,  insulting  thee, 

Avenging  swords. 


[53] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


The  Feast  of  Belshazzar 

THE  king  Belshazzar  at  a  royal  feast 

Sat  wine-imbibing  on  his  golden  throne, 
Oblivious  to  the  menace  of  the  East, 

The  raging  Northern  stress  to  him  unknown. 
His  ministers  of  state  surrounded  him, 

His  wise  men  and  magicians  at  his  feet, 

His  wives  and  concubines  and  all  that  sweet 
Umbrageous  coterie  that  in  the  dim 

Half-limbus  of  uncertain  favor  dwell,  — 
The  courtiers,  priests  and  flatterers  who  fawn 
Upon  the  monarch  from  the  early  dawn 

Until  the  sounding  of  the  midnight  bell. 
All  in  the  palace  sat  or  half  reclined, 
Entertained  most  royally,  feasted  and  dined, 
While  song  and  mirth  and  laughter  filled  the 

air, 

And  not  a  lip  sighed  forth  a  single  care. 
But  where  the  rich  Damascus  tapestry 

Adorn  an  arabasque  red-granite  wall, 
There,  all  in  blazing  light,  a  prophecy 

Appeared  that,  louder  than  a  clarion's  call, 

[54] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Foretold  the  end  of  this  great  monarch's  reign, 
As  well  as  of  his  numerous  servile  train. 
But  none  the  mystic  letters  understood, 
Nor  was  the  king  Belshazzar  in  the  mood 
The  language  of  the  mystics  to  discern. 

The  flaming  Wrath  that  did  before  him  loom 
Out  of  his  orgies  wild  he  could  not  learn, 

And  knew  not  that  it  spelled  the  one  word 
"DOOM." 


[55] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


Translated  from  the  Yiddish 

(Anonymous). 

EAT,  my  child,  this  bread  and  honey, 
Honey  is  like  sugar  sweet  - 

After  holiday  your  father 
May  remember  us  to  greet. 

Nestle  closer  to  the  bosom 
Of  thy  mother,  dearest  child, 

I  alone  must  keep  this  feast-day, 
Woe  is  me,  my  pain  is  wild. 

Oh,  thy  father  left  and  journeyed 
Somewhere  far  to  earn  his  bread,  — 

When  I  see  our  desolation 

I  am  seized  with  bitter  dread. 

Yet  perhaps  will  God  have  mercy, 

Sending  us  a  little  luck, 
That  the  year  be  not  returning 

Which  our  hearts  with  terror  struck. 

[56] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

Works  so  hard  thy  ailing  mother, 
Not  a  moment  free  she  feels,  — 

Yet  is  she  so  poor  and  lonely 
That  her  very  blood  congeals. 

God  allowing,  I  perhaps  will 
Earn  a  little  at  my  place,  — 

Then  I  '11  make  for  my  own  darling 
Winter  clothes  'gainst  winter's  face. 

Then  two  little  shoes  I  '11  purchase, 
Will  be  warm  thy  little  feet; 

Eat,  my  child,  this  bread  and  honey, 
Honey  is  so  very  sweet. 


[57] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


The  Passover  of  Today 

THREE  thousand  years  and  more 
Since  on  the  sunlit  shore 

Of  the  wide  Red  Sea  we  stood, 
A  people  liberated  first, 
As  the  whilom  shackles  burst 
From  off  our  limbs  and  fell, 
With  many  a  ringing  knell, 

To  echo  through  the  corridors  of  time ; 

While  our  great  leader,  in  authoritative  mood, 
Did  split  in  twain  the  Sea, 
That  we 
May  pass  o'er  harmlessly. 

It  was  a  passing  over,  great,  sublime, 
Than  which  in  all  man 's  annals  nought 
Was  e'er  with  so  much  purpose  fraught. 
From  bondage  into  Freedom's  light, 
From  servitude  to  kingly  might, 
A  thousand  wrongs  at  last  set  right, 

Oh,  what  a  great  beginning  then  was  made 
When  young  the  world  was,  and  when  man 
Civilization's  first  syllable  to  lisp  began, 

[58] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

As  civilization's  cornerstones  were  laid. 
Far  into  the  future,  then,  the  Seer  did  look 
And  saw  before  him  many  a  passing  o  'er 

For  Israel,  the  greatest  people  of  the  earth, 
Many  a  precipice  and  many  a  raging  shore 

To  scale  or  span,  or  cross  or  ford, 
Many  a  well-nigh  death,  and  many  a  great 

rebirth, 

Beset  by  many  a  savage  horde,  — 
This  future  people  of  the  Book,  - 
Until  at  last  the  vistas  of  his  vision  led 
Unto  a  field  by  joy  and  sunshine  fed, 
Unto  the  haven  of  the  bless 'd, 
Where  God's  annointed  rest. 

So  now  in  many  lands  where  dwell 

The  half  of  Israel  once  again  it  fell 

A  wondrous  passing  o  'er  to  be  recorded, 

Such  as  ten  centuries  have  not  afforded,  — 

A  passing  from  a  barbarous  state, 

From  persecution  and  great  hate, 

Pogroms  and  rapine,  murder  and  strife, 

Unto  new  love  and  generous  life ; 

Unto  a  new  regime 

Whose  very  scheme 

By  the  Creator  first  was  planned, 

[591 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

When  o'er  the  rushing  waters  and  the  waves 
Of  Chaos  His  great  word  went  forth 
In  thunder  that  chilled  the  nebulous  froth. 

And  star-dust  into  worlds  congealed, 
The  while  His  eye,  all-seeing,  scanned 

Infinity,  thus  saying:  "Let  there  be  no  slaves, 
But  love  of  man   for  man  shall   be  re 
vealed.  ' ' 


[60] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 


When  That  Day  Comes ! 

AND  when  the  hand   of  Time   that  marks  off 

centuries 

Upon  the  universal  dial  shall  once  again 
Point  to  the  matin  hour 
When  Israel 's  latent  power 
Shall  rise  with  might  and  main, 
Its  former  glory  to  regain, 
And  yet  new  glories,  still  unknown, 
To  lay  before  God's  wondrous  throne, 
Oh,  may  it  be  a  time 
When  universal  crime, 
Deceit  and  infamy, 
And  all  ills  of  humanity, 
Shall  be  forgot, 
That  not  a  single  blot 
Would  mar  the  new  escutcheon 
That  shall  outblaze  the  blazing  sun. 
Or  if  the  Great  Eye  peradventure  sees 

Continuance  of  wars  and  plagues  and  man's 

Inhuman  policy  to  man, 

Oh,  let  them  beware  who  shall  transplant  all 
these 

[61] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Abominations  to  the  sacred  soil,  — 
This  evil  deed  will  back  on  them  recoil ! 
For  at  Jeshurun's  gate  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
On  wing  outstretched,  in  hands  a  flaming  sword, 
Will  stand  and  count  each  in  the  homing  horde, 
And  question  every  pilgrim's  secret  plans, 
And  search  into  each  soul  as  only  angels 

can! 

If  one  doth  carry  in  his  heart  the  seed 
Of  the  great  Heresy, 
A  kernel  of  the  modern  Fallacy, 

If  one  served  idols  in  a  foreign  land, 
Or  kneeled  to  Mammon  and  the  god  of 

gold, 
Or  followed  Dogma's  false  command, 

Or  worshipped  harlots  crude  and  bold, 
Or  at  Assimilation's  hand  did  feed, 
Let  such  abstain  from  ent'ring  here, 
For  they  have  much  of  God  to  fear! 
None  from  the  money-changers'  mart, — 
None  but  the  pure  of  heart, 
Whose  hands  are  clean, 
Whose  conscience  is  serene, 
Who  hath  no  vain  regret, 
No  memory  to  forget, 
No  self-emolument  to  seek, 

[62] 


APPEAL  AND  PROTEST 

No  vengeances  to  wreak,  — 

Let  him  be  pioneer, 

To  build  my  Temple  here  ! 

Thus  saith  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
While    standing    guard    o'er    the    homing 
horde  ! 


WHO  is  there  so  faint  and  weak, 
Whose  heart  doth  tremble  in  its  fear, 
Who  doth  to  his  own  vanities  adhere,  — 
Let  him  come  forth  and  speak  ! 
What  man  in  the  Diaspora  hath  built 

Himself  a  home,  or  who  a  vineyard  planted, 
And  who  in  his  prosperity  deems  it  a  guilt 
To  sacrifice  to  Israel's  cause, 
Let  such  by  the  wayside  pause, 

Nor  let  to  such  the  privilege  be  granted 
To  build  for  Judea  a  new  Judean  State  ! 
But  as  the  vistas  of  all-time  will  ope 

To  give  a  glimpse  of  God's  annointed  sons, 
Let  future  generations  in  their  pride  relate 
That  those  who  did  with  this  great  problem 

cope 

Were  men  of  sterling  worth,  —  the  sturdy 
ones 

[63] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Who  plowed  and  tilled,  and  sowed  and  reaped. 
And  on  the  Holy  Land  abundance  heaped. 
Aye,  men  and  women,  builders  of  a  State, 
As  shall  our  children  in  just  pride  relate ! 


[64] 


II. 

POEMS  OF  NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 


The  Song  of  the  Mountains 

THE  Song  of  the  Mountains  is  a  song  without 
words, 

And  the  singer  the  eagle  on  high, 
Who,  of  all  of  the  fast-flying,  high-soaring  birds, 

He  soareth  the  nearest  the  sky. 

The  high  winds  delight  in  his  screech  and  his 

yell, 

And  the  sky-scaling  bluffs  in  their  turn 
Bend  trebly  their  heads  in  a  magical  spell, 
The  grace  of  the  singer  to  earn. 

Far  over  the  clouds  he  mates  on  the  wing, 
And  warbles  and  coos  to  his  love; 

From  heaven  the  light  if  he  wills  can  he  bring, 
Or  anything  else  from  above. 

He  roams  with  his  mate  through  the  Range  as  he 
lists, 

And  builds  on  the  highest  of  crags ; 
The  veil  for  his  bride  are  the  roseate  mists 

Through  which  Phoebus  his  chariot  drags. 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

He  fears  nothing  earthly,  he  fears  neither  foe, 
Full  knowing  the  height  of  his  flight, 

Content  in  the  day-time  wherever  he'll  go, 
Secure  in  his  nest  in  the  night. 

All  the  Mountains  delight  in  this  song  without 

words, 

That  is  sung  by  the  eagle  on  high ; 
Well  assured,  if  not  they,  then  this  bird  of  all 

birds 
Will  succeed  once  in  piercing  the  sky. 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 


The  Lure  of  the  West 

I 
THE  LORELEI  OF  THE  PRAIRIES 

A  WOMAN  in  purple  came  on  the  horizon, 

With  a  veil  of  dark  blue  all  encircling  her 

frame, 
And  I  knew  her  as  soon  as  she  cast  her  great  eyes 

on 

My  face,  and  I  shuddered  to  think  of  her 
name. 

But  she  lifted  her  voice  and  the  echoes  resounded 
From  prairie  to  prairie  across  her  domain, 
From  the  deep  starry  vault  the  sweet  music  re 
bounded, 

And  good  was  her  singing  of  this,  her  re 
frain  : 

(Lorelei  sings). 

And  the  golden-silver  notes  are  ringing,  ringing, 
ringing, 

[69] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

And  my  words  like  dancing  motes  are  singing, 

singing,  singing, 
Singing,  ringing  golden  chimes, 
Of  the  fabulous  golden  mines, 
And  of  regions  of  the  bless 'd, 
Where  all  find  peace  and  love  and  rest. 

Oh,  Lorelei,  my  Lorelei, 

I  am  thy  ready  victim, 
But  leash  thy  beast  of  death  or  else, 

In  mercy,  pray  restrict  him; 
For,  though  within  thy  whirlpool  caught, 

There  is  no  need  denying, 
'Tis  the  sweetest  thing  on  earth 

To  hear  thy  music,  —  dying. 

II 
DELUSION 

O'ER   the    echoless    wastes   of  the   steel-eolored 

prairie 
The  twilight  descended  on   far-reaching 

wing, 

When  a  phantom-like  outline,  etherial,  airy, 
Like  some  strange  illusion,  an  ill-defined  fairy, 
Stepped  out  like  a  witch  from  a  magical 
ring. 

[70] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 

With  quivering  finger  it  pointed  me  onward, 

To  where  the  red  sun  in  the  clouds  dis 
appears  ; 

With  gestures  fantastic  it  pointed  me  toward 
The  gold-land  of  sunshine  that  lies  ever  forward, 
The  land  that  is  stranger  to  sorrow  and 
tears. 

The  heat  rose  in  waves  on  the  blue  forms  of 

evening, 
And  the  tall,  swaying  grass  seemed  a  deep, 

surging  sea ; 
Dark    night    in    all    mystery    came,    scarcely 

breathing, 
The  elfin-like  fairy  was  leaving,  receding, 

Then  vanished  with  laughter  and  sinister 
glee. 

Ill 
EUREKA 

EUREKA,  I  have  found  it 

In  the  open  public  mart ; 
I  have  found  it  and  I  bound  it 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

To  my  sore  and  bleeding  heart ! 
All  my  life  I  sought  it,  sought  it, 

In  the  mountain-fastness,  there, 
Till  I  wrought  it,  as  I  thought  it, 

With  my  bleeding  hands  and  bare, 
From  the  granite  rocks  out  yonder, 
The  gray,  clammy  mines  beyond  there, 

That  have  proved  themselves  a  snare  ! 
Peaks  on  peaks  I  climbed  and  clambered, 

Mountain-ranges  I  went  o'er, 
Fording  streams  and  lakes  unnumbered, 

Knocking  at  the  golden  door. 
In  the  arctic  Klondike  region, 

In  the  heat  of  tropic  climes, 
In  the  mines  whose  names  are  legion, 

I  have  harked  for  golden  chimes. 
Gold  I  sought  in  stream  and  freshet, 

Gold  I  sought  deep  in  the  earth, 
But  I  could  not,  could  not  guess  it, 

That  of  gold  there  is  great  dearth. 
Am  I  mad  ?    Why,  no !    I  found  it 

In  the  open  public  mart; 
Gold  it  is !    I  found  and  bound  it 

To  my  sore  and  bleeding  heart. 

[72] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 

IV 
THE  LAKE  OF  THE  VALLEY  OF  NAVAJO 

THERE  is  a  valley  where  the  setting  sun 

Looks  green  with  envy  in  the  evening  dusk, 

Whilst  in  a  network  magically  spun 

The  prairie  weaves  its  dark,  vermillion  husk. 

Steel-blue  reflects  the  far  and  distant  field 

That  looks  like  some  mysterious,  magic  lake, 

As  if  it  were  on  purpose  ill  concealed, 

Where  wayfarers  seek  their  burning  thirst 
to  slake. 

Fiercely  the  heat  beats  down  for  many  a  day 
Upon  the  sandy  plain  and  prairie  land, 

Severely  trying  all  upon  the  way 

To  wealth  and  gold  across  the  burning  sand. 

Great  is  their  thirst  but  greater  still  their  hope, 
For  surely,  surely  now  the  lake  is  found ; 

And  still,  that  phantom-lake  ahead,  they  grope 
On  blindly  o'er  the  dark,  retreating  ground. 

For  days  they  seek  until  at  last  they  fall 

Amid   the   skulls    and   bones    the    sun   has 
bleached, 

[73] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Like  many  others  answering  the  Call, 

With     that     mysterious     prairie-lake     un- 
reached. 

V 

TO  THE  LORELEI  OF  THE  WEST 

SING,  Lorelei,  sing  me  to  sleep, 
Call,  Lorelei,  call  from  the  deep ; 
Cradled  in  fungus-beds  down  in  the  sea, 
Sing  thy  sweet  lullaby,  sing  it  to  me. 

Truce  to  all  strife,  you  will  say, 
Peace  with  the  end  of  the  day ; 
"Life  is  but  fever  and  pain" 
Is  thy  recurrent  refrain ; 
Death  is  but  slumber  and  rest, 
Balsam  and  balm  to  the  breast, 
Respite  and  peace  for  the  soul, 
As  the  eternities  roll. 

Sing,  Lorelei,  sing  me  to  sleep, 
Call,  Lorelei,  as  though  from  the  deep; 
Cradled  in  prairie-grass,  blue  as  the  sea, 
Sing  thy  sweet  lullaby,  sing  it  to  me. 


[74] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 


An  Ode  to  the  West 

O  YE  winds  of  the  west 
Whose  abode  is  a  nest 

In  the  wilds  of  the  snow-covered  moun 
tains, 

Your  wings  bring  good  cheer 
To  the  haunts  of  the  deer, 

And  the  field  of  perpetual  fountains. 

Where  Ocean  and  Tide 
Ebb  and  flow  to  the  wide 

And  unreachable  circling  horizon, 
And  Cynthia,  Queen 
Of  the  heavens  serene, 

With  a  sweet  tender  smile  keeps  her  eyes 
on 

The  sea-faring  sails, 
While  the  moonlight  avails 

To  their  haven  in  safety  to  guide  them ; 
There  serve  the  winds  well 
As  the  canvass  they  swell, 

While    the    sailor-lads    laughingly    chide 
them. 

[75] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

But  ye  of  the  west 
Never  know  the  behest 

Of      the      slave-driving,      wind-working 

master ; 

Then  why,  will  ye  say, 
Both  by  night  and  by  day, 

Do  ye  blow  ever  harder  and  faster? 

The  winds  then  spoke  and  said : 
"We  are  the  living  and  the  dead, 
The  flame  of  life,  the  breath  of  fire. 
The  soul  of  passion  and  desire, 
All  evil  and  all  virtue  known 
Are  we,  and  we  are  that  alone. 
We  blow  our  breath  on  hill  and  dale, 
And  Nature  rises  fresh  and  hale ; 
Again  we  blow  our  icy  breath, 
And  sward  and  leaf  go  down  in  death. 
Out  from  the  caves  of  mountain-height 
We  bring  the  shadow,  bring  the  light ; 
We  carry  seed  to  barren  lands, 
And  render  fertile  desert  sands, 
As  o'er  the  globe,  like  Phoebus'  car, 
We  travel  near  and  travel  far. 
We  roar  and  clamor,  whistle  shrill, 
And  then  like  zephyrs,  gentle,  still, 

[76] 


We  purr  and  murmur  and  caress, 

And  some  we  curse  and  some  we  bless. ' ' 

0  ye  streams  of  the  west 
That  arise  on  the  crest 

Of  the  sky-lifting  earth-elevation, 
Through  canyons  ye  creep, 
And  ye  gambol  and  leap, 

And  disport  since  the  planet's  creation. 

Away  on  the  plains 

They  are  harnessed  in  chains, 

And  compelled  unto  labors  incessant ; 
Each  murmuring  rill 
In  the  work  of  a  mill 

Ts  becoming  inured  and  senescent. 

Or  else  in  the  towns 

As  they  flow  to  the  downs, 

They  are  subject  to  human  contention ; 
They  lave  and  they  clean, 
And  they  gather  and  glean, 

And  they  serve  every  human  invention. 

But  ye  of  the  west 
Never  know  the  behest 

Of     the     slave-driving,     stream-working 
master ; 

[77] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Then  why,  will  ye  say, 
Both  by  night  and  by  day, 

Do  ye  flow  ever  faster  and  faster  ? 

"Truth  eternal  is  our  source, 

As  we  roll  our  mountain  course. 

Purity  and  virtue  rare 

We  distribute  in  the  air, 

When  we  crash  and  splash  and  dash 

In  our  disposition  rash, 

Wild  and  wilful,  down  the  steep 

Rugged  ladder  of  the  deep, 

Till  precipitous  we  leap 

To  the  bed  of  the  ravine 

Where  the  stars  alone  are  seen. 

Crystal,  crystal,  crystal  sheen 

Is  reflected  in  our  green, 

While  the  skies  of  sapphire  hue 

Are  reflected  in  our  blue. 

Silver  nuggets,  bars  of  gold, 

Wealth  and  treasures  yet  untold, 

Such  as  sun  and  stars  unfold, 

We  have  never  yet  denied ;  — 

This  is  what  the  streams  replied. 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 

0  ye  mountains  so  high 
As  to  challenge  the  sky, 

And  to  challenge  creation  in  beauty, 
So  grand  is  the  sight 
In  the  play  of  the  light 

As  to  make  admiration  a  duty. 

For  when  in  the  dawn 
Of  a  grey,  misty  morn, 

All  your  vastness  but  dimly  emerges, 
You  seem  like  a  dream 
With  the  hint  of  a  gleam 

Of  some  thought  that  through  memory 
surges. 

Or  when  the  first  ray 
Of  the  oncoming  day 

On  your  sky-line  the  snow-caps  discovers, 
It  dances  and  plays 
As  on  silvery  trays, 

And  caressingly  lingers  and  hovers. 

And  later  the  sun, 
When  his  course  is  begun, 

Crowns  your  brow  with  a  halo  of  glory,  - 
A  millon  of  gems 

[79] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

In  your  gold  diadems 

Is  the  daily  and  hourly  story. 

As  twilight  descends 

On  the  mountains  and  lends 

Altogether  a  weirdness  fantastic, 
The  shadows  trip  fast, 
Like  the  ghosts  from  the  past, 

Unobtrusive  and  silent  and  plastic. 

Deep  purple  the  clouds 
That  form  funeral  shrouds 

For  the  sun  that  goes  westward  aroaming; 
And  weave  on  the  heads 
Of  the  mountains  the  threads 

Of  the  purpling  gold  veil  of  the  gloaming. 

A  hand  pearly  grey 
Tolls  the  end  of  the  day, 

And  the  echoes  find  silver  companions 
0  'er  hill,  over  dale, 
In  the  mountain  and  vale, 

In  the  gorges  and  whispering  canyons. 

Then,  seized  with  the  pow'r 
Of  God's  purposeful  hour, 

[80] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 

All-unconscious  I  take  up  my  lyre, 
And  wrest  from  its  chords 
All  the  landscape  affords, 

All  its  sweetness,  its  beauty,  its  fire! 


[81] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


An  Ode  to  the  Alps 

BEFORE  the  world  was  old  in  years, 
Before  the  sea  was  circumscribed, 
When  first  our  globe  among  celestial  spheres 

Its  marvelous  elliptic  course  described, 
Then  ye,   0  heaven-born  heights,  out  of  deep 

chaos  rose, 

The  Prince  of  Cimean  darkness  to  depose, 
And,  through  innumerable,  violent  throes, 

Give  birth  to  order  and  eternal  light. 
So  that  the  earth  in  her  illimitable  woes, 

When    fiercely    the    elements    with    all    their 

might 

Against  each  other  strove, 
And  fire  and  water  drove 
About  her  face  through  centuries  of  night, 
At  last  out  of  great  wrong  obtained  some  right, 
And  for  her  dreadful  pains  some  sweet  repose. 
Then  ye,  O  matchless  heights,  in  all  your  glory 

came, 

A  living  song,  a  Paean  to  His  Name, 
And  with  your  loftiest  peak  inscribed  the  Word 

[82] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 

Which  ye  at  birth  in  fear  and  trembling  heard, 
The  word  of  destiny, 
Of  all  futurity, 
How  it  shall  fare  with  men  and  this  fair  earth, 

From  its  inception  to  its  very  end ; 
Inscribed  it  with  your  pinnacles  on  high 
Upon  the  zenith  of  the  sky, 
Though  who  is  there  of  such  superior  birth 
That  can  your  characters  decipher  or 
Unlock  your  heart,  your  secret  place  explore, 
And  to  your  jagged  lines  a  meaning  lend? 
Perchance  your  snows  have  covered  up  some  sin 
Of  what  once  was  or  else  what  might  have  been ! 
Perhaps  your  glaciers  hide,  Oh,  many  a  deed 
Of  some  great  infamy, 
Some  world-wide  tragedy, 

And  so  are  loth  to  vanish  and  display 
What  to  your  shame  the  world  might  read,  — 

Your  skeleton  sketches  in  the  open  day. 
Ah,  no !    Ye  shall  no  thoughts  like  these  inspire 
Within  the  bard  whose  ever-flaming  fire 
Must  cast  its  warmth  upon  your  loftiest  crest, 
Just  as  with  evening  comes  the  Alpine  glow, 
When  in  the  valleys  long  the  shadows  fall, 
Responding  to  a  most  mysterious  call, 
And  rises  to  your  heights  from  down  below, 

[83] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

At  the  great  Alchemist,  the  Sun's  behest. 

Surely  untrodden  peaks  of  all  things  best 

Preserve  their  purity  of  virgin  snow. 

And  when  some  lonely  wanderer,  to  forestall 
A  worse  disaster,  bivouacs  on  some  peak 

At  night,  and  spreads  his  tent  upon  a  sheet 

of  ice, 
He'll  hear  the  snow-caps  to  each  other  speak, 

As  if  by  some  mysterious  device ; 
And  if  he  neither  sleeps  nor  is  awake. 
But  harks  attentively  and  long, 
He'll  hear  this  burden  of  their  song, 
At  that  frail  moment  when  the  day  must  break : 
"Ever  since  a  God  has  been 
We  have  never  tasted  sin, 
And  all  evil  passions  are 
From  us  very,  very  far. 
We  are  pure  and  we  are  true, 
As  an  azure  sky  is  blue; 
As  the  soul  is  stainless  white, 
As  the  sun  is  always  bright, 
So  are  we  both  pure  and  true, 
As  the  sky  absorbs  the  dew. 
Angels  only  visit  us, 
Angels  only  tread  on  us, 
And  if  some  of  a  lower  race 

[84] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 

Will  not,  can  not  know  their  place, 

Then  for  every  day  they  try 

To  attain  us  they  shall  lie 

An  Eon  in  an  unknown  grave, 

In  some  chasm,  or  in  a  glacier-cave. : 


[85] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


An  Ode  to  the  Leman 

BLUE  are  thy  waters  and  blue  is  the  sky, 

As  the  fair  day  advances  from  morning  till  eve, 
Where  life  is  worth  living,  where  no  one  may 
grieve, 

For  the  joy  and  the  peace  on  the  sea  and  on  high. 

So  calm  is  thy  surface,  so  peaceful  thy  breast, 
0   thou   wonderful   lake   full   of  beauty   and 

charm, 
That  all  men  grow  unmindful  of  ill  or  of  harm, 

And  find  on  thy  bosom  their  haven  of  rest. 

A  haven  of  rest  and  a  harbour  of  calm 

Is  thy  quiet  expanse  of  deep,  shimmering  blue ; 
Rich  treasures  of  hope  that  all  evils  subdue, 

Or  a  river  of  healing,  an  ocean  of  balm : 

A  retreat  for  the  weary,  those  laden  with  care, 
An  asylum,  a  sanctuary,  true  to  its  name, 
Where  man}*  a  suffering  wanderer  came, 

And  whither  yet  pilgrims  for  ages  will  fare. 

For  when  on  thy  waters  at  eve  I  embark, 

In  magnificent  silence  that  reigns  all  supreme, 
With  the  sun  past  the  mountains  still  sending 
a  beam 

[86] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 

To  disqualify  night  and  illumine  the  dark ;  — 
The  great  mountains  surround  thee  in  purple 

array ; 
The  hills  all  around  thee,  full  verdured  with 

green, 
Still  retaining  some  glow  of  the  shimmering 

sheen 

That  is  loth  to  depart  with  the  slow-dying  day, 
Bend  their  heads  in  full  reverence,  knowing  quite 

well 

That  thy  splendor  is  matchless,  thy  charm  un 
surpassed, 

Then  I  feel  and  can  know  how  is  nature  en 
clasped 
And  held  bondman  and  slave  in  thy  magical 

spell ! 
In  far  ages  agone,  when  creation  was  new, 

To  behold  thy  great  beauty,  from  east  and 

from  west 
Came  the  Alps  and  the  Jura ;  green  slopes  and 

high  crest 

Of  precipitous  granite,  thee-worshipping,  drew 
To  thy  shores,  all-amazed,  and  forever  remained, 
As  if  torn  from  their  purpose,  their  calling 

forgot, 

By  their  love  of  thee  only  held  down  to  this 
spot,  — 

[87] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Quite  content  to  remain  thus  eternally  chained. 
While  their  villas  and  forests  smile  into  thy  face, 
As  a  beautiful  maiden  smiles  into  a  glass, 
And  behold  in  return,  to  each  green  blade  of 

grass, 

Their  own  perfect  image  returned  with  thy  grace. 
While  the  sun's  setting  rays  in  all  shades  paint 

the  sky, 
And  illumine  the  mountainous  peaks  with  their 

glow; 

The  day  hovers  high,  while  the  night  is  below, 
The  sweet  zephyrs  murmur  and  utter  a  sigh. 


[88] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 


Schreckhorn 

TRUE  to  thy  name,  O  monument  of  eld, 
When  light  first  dawned  primeval  man  beheld 
In  thee  a  terror  and  an  object  all 
Too  frightful,  ever  able  to  appall 
His  infant  mind,  while  he  accounted  thee 
His  lord,  his  god,  his  dread  divinity. 
For  when  upon  thy  peaks  perchance  he  came, 
Scarcely  less  wild  than  thou  or  than  the  game 
Which  he  with  club  or  axe  in  hand  pursued, 
His  speechless  vows  he  many  times  renewed 
To  be  thy  abject  slave  forever  hence, 
And  raise  an  altar  unto  thee,  if  thence 
Thou  wouldst  permit  him  graciously  to  go 
And  join,  unhurt,  his  clothesless  spouse  below. 
E  'en  now  as  I  ascend  thy  dreadful  heights, 
Who  through  these  centuries  have  gained  some 

rights, 

I  cannot  help  but  feel  the  dread  he  felt 
When  he,  as  I,  in  open  awe  had  knelt 
Upon  thy  shaggy  brow  and  feared  thee  much, 
For  thy  forbidden  crevices  are  such 

[89] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

That  even  here  are  seldom  to  be  found, 

As  if  the  mountains  to  the  very  ground 

Were  cleft,  down  to  the  earth's  concentric  core, 

That  surely  lost  were  he  forevermore 

Who  made  some  foul  misstep,  or  missed  his  hold, 

Then  measured  the  abyss,  a  depth  untold ;  — 

A  sacrifice  upon  thy  altar  he, 

Attesting  thus  thy  dread  divinity ! 


[90] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 


The  Mythen 

WHAT  dreams  are  you  dreaming, 

Inaccessible  height, 
When  the  starlight  is  streaming 

This  long  summer  night? 

When  the  clouds  with  their  glory 

Encircle  your  crest, 
What  wonderful  story 

Is  locked  in  your  breast? 

In  the  twilight  of  morning 
The  shadows  profound, 

Your  great  height  adorning, 
Descend  to  the  ground ; 

Or  when  in  the  eve-tide 

Dark  spirits  of  old, 
That  silently  grieve,  hide 

In  your  chambers  untold; 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Then  tell  me  what  think  you, 

Inscrutable  height ! 
Can  centuries  bring  you 

No  shadow  of  light  ? 


[92] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 


Mont  Blanc 

REAL  Monarch  of  the  Alps,  how  proudly  grand, 
Without  compeer,  thou    'mong  the  clouds  dost 

stand ! 

Mute  as  a  Sphynx,  yet  eloquent  indeed 
For  them  who  can  thy  mountain-cipher  read. 
To  those  hard  toilers  who  thy  seracs  reach 
Thou  art  indeed  quite  prodigal  of  speech ! 
Thou  art  the  loadstone  attracting  human  kind, 
For  such  vast  grandeur  none  may  elsewhere  find ; 
Dazzled  and  stunned  is  every  human  eye, 
So  none  can  thy  supremacy  deny. 
Thy  feet  are  deep  set  in  the  planet's  heart; 
Of  hardest  granite  is  thy  every  part; 
Thy  crest  thrice  daily  kisses  the  azure  sky ; 
God  rests  on  thee  His  never- failing  eye ! 
Crowned  with  the  purest  crown  He  can  bestow,  — 
A  limitless  expanse  of  virgin  snow,  — 
With  rubies  set  and  many  a  precious  stone, 
While  ermine  drapes  thy  adamantine  throne, 
Thou  art  indeed  the  chosen  of  the  world, 
Holding  the  flag  of  peace  eternally  unfurled. 


[93] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


The  Lake  of  Lucerne 

AN  emerald  by  rocks  enclosed, 

Or  verdant  fields  with  flocks  disposed, 

So  is  this  beauteous  star-shaped  lake, 

Where  gladly  come  their  thirst  to  slake 

The  swift-foot  chamois  from  the  heights 

At  dusk  o'  morn  or  end  o'  nights. 

The  star  that  twinkles  in  the  face 

Of  this  grand  lake  mistakes  its  place, 

And  thinks  itself  in  heav'n  above, 

Immersed  in  God's  eternal  love. 

Whereas  the  mountains  dream  and  sleep 

Forever  in  this  quiet  deep, 

So  deeply  shadowed  in  the  lake 

They  will  not,  can  not,  dare  not  wake ! 

What  think  they  and  what  dream  they  so, 

When  strangely  lit  by  Alpine  glow, 

Or  when  the  shadows  come  and  go  ? 

Alas !    I  cannot,  cannot  know ! 

Each  blade  of  grass  within  its  sphere 

Is  glad  to  be  a  native  here, 

For  it  is  always  twice  on  hand, 

[94] 


NATURE  AND  TRAVEL 

Within  the  deep  and  on  the  land. 

While  high  above  the  snow-peaks  smile 

Through  many  a  narrow,  deep  defile, 

And  look  into  the  waters  green, 

That  also  there  they  might  be  seen,  - 

Not  all  content  to  pierce  the  sky, 

But  in  the  emerald  waters  lie, 

And  temper  their  too-dazzling  white 

With  green  and  soft  prismatic  light. 

The  land  pushed  out  its  slender  arms, 

As  if  to  grasp  the  watery  charms 

In  an  embrace  so  well  and  sure 

As  shall  for  centuries  endure. 

And  e'en  the  sky,  so  proud  and  cold, 

The  clouds  that  highest  peaks  enfold, 

Both  dip  into  the  waters  oft 

And  then  retire  again  aloft, 

To  weep  or  smile,  as  they  deem  best, 

Upon  this  lake  by  all  the  graces  blessed. 


[951 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


Ships  at  Sea 

A  SHIP  afloat  on  a  raging  sea, 

With  waves  on  waves  that  obstruct  the  sky, 
And  never  a  calming  breath  from  the  lee, 

And  never  a  hopeful  ray  from  on  high. 

A  soul  adrift  on  a  desert  sea, 

With  doubt  and  fear  all  encompassed  'round, 
And  never  a  hopeful  sight  from  the  lee, 

And  never  the  breath  of  a  human  sound. 

The   WHENCE   and   the   WHITHER  all   un 
known, 

The  WHY  as  mysterious  as  night  is  dark ; 
And  the  fruit  of  the  toil  what  the  wind  has  sown, 

And  the  hope  and  the  gain  but  a  dying  spark. 


[96] 


III. 

LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCEL 
LANEOUS  POEMS 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 


Sanctuary 

(TO  C.  D.) 

I  RETURN  from  the  battle,  all  seared  and  scarred, 
Wounded  to  death  and  bleeding  at  every  vein, 
Pursued  by  the  hounds  of  war 
Unto  the  very  door 
Of  the  holy  temple,  the  sacred  fane, 
That  stands  a  bulwark,  bolted  and  barred, 
Against  oppressors,  however  hard, 
Against  all  evil,  to  lead  and  guard 
The  weary  soldier,  the  stricken  knight, 
Through  flame  and  smoke,   through  stumbling 

night, 

"Where  all  who  come  find  sanctuary, 
However  low  their  station  be. 
Oh,  fierce  was  the  combat  and  terrible  the  strife, 
With  the  enemy  surrounding  on  every  side, 
Where  no  quarters  were   asked  and  none 

were  given, 
But   like   fighting  devils   each   of  us  have 

striven 

O'er  the  corpse  of  his  opponent  merciless  to 
ride 

[99] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

And  crush  out  to  the  last  the  panting,  struggling 

life. 

It  was  a  battle  not 
Of  brawn  and  strength  begot, 
Nor  a  physical  struggle  in  its  true  sense, 
But  such  as  evil  spirits  wage 

Against  the  powers  of  light  and  truth, 
Making  of  virtue  a  foul  offence, 

Of  all  that's  noble  a  burning  shame; 
'Twas  a  conflict  in  which  the  gods  engage, 
Making  earth  hideous  and  uncouth, 

To  vindicate  their  highest  claim. 
And  boldly  did  I  ride, 
My  charging  steed  astride, 

Into  the  cohorts  of  darkness,  the  armies  of  sin,  — 
For  all  the  windmills  are  not  fallen  yet,  nor  are 
The  Don  Quixotes  dead,  —  and  so  I  thought  that 

somewhere  far, 
Far  off,  some  compensating  goodness  may  have 

been 
Reserved  for  the  poor  Knight  Errant  when  the 

battle's  won. 

For  out  of  the  deepest  depths  of  hell 
I  heard  the  groaning  tocsin  bell, 
Heard  the  sad,  the  mad  farewell, 
As  of  a  thousand  waterfalls ! 

[100] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

And  to  the  rescue  all  my  faculties  have  gone, 
As  if  responding  to  an  imperative  behest. 
Yea,  all  my  theories  I  put  to  test, 

To  prove  them  all  and  prove  them  false ! 
For  I  have  cast  my  bread  upon  the  waters, 

And  to  the  drowning  man  held  forth  my  hand, 
I  descended  into  Avernus'  bituminous  quarters, 
And  snatched  from  hell-fire  ten  thou 
sand  souls : 

The  cripple  made  I  whole, 
And  to  the  lost  I  gave  a  soul ! 

By  the  side  of  the  publican  and  sinner  did  I 

stand, 

And  said  "my  brother"  and  "my  sister"  when 
The  world  despised  them  and  derided  me ! 
But  for  my  good  came  ill,  and  for  my  bread 

a  stone, 
A  curse  for  my  blessing,  and  for  my  pain 

disgrace ! 

As  down  an  Alpine  mountain  rolls 
An  avalanche  into  an  icy  sea 

Below,  or  like  a  thunderbolt,  so  came 
The  furies  of  discontent  to  censure  and 

to  blame, 

To  destroy  my  idols  and  efface 
All  that  is  good,  and  plant  all  that  is  base, 

[101] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

So  all  my  great  philosophies  are  overthrown. 
And  now  as  there  is  no  longer  hope, 
Within  the  world 's  wide  scope, 
Of  recompense  of  God  or  gratitude  of  men, 
With  my  last  spent  breath, 
Pursued  by  the  shadows  of  death, 
Unto  thy  sheltering  wing  I  flee 
For  Sanctuary. 

Some  saving  grace,  a  pitying  look, 
A  gentle  touch,  a  loving  word, 
And  then  I  care  not  if  I  never  heard 
Again  man's  speech,  the  babbling  brook, 

The  whispering  stream,  the  warbling  bird  ; — 
All  that  I  love,  all  that  I  prize, 
May  vanish  like  a  thin  disguise, 
So  long  I  find  retreat  in  thee, 
And  in  thy  heart  my  sanctuary ! 


[102] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 


Salve  Dea! 

HAIL,  Goddess  of  redeeming  virtue,  hail ! 
Thy  glorious  healing  gifts  will  never  fail 
The  lowliest  creature  of  the  living  God ! 
Those  eating  dust  and  mingling  with  the  sod 
Their  tears  of  anguish  and  of  bitter  grief ; 
Those  calling  vainly,  crying  for  relief 
Prom  soul-destroying  evils  that  will  not 
Abate ;  those  scorched  by  fire,  or  fanned  by  hot 
Hell-blasts  in  the  depths  of  error  or  remorse ; 
Those  smitten  with  disease  or  with  the  force 
Of  man 's  ingratitude ;  —  and  oh,  all  those 
Who  were  betrayed  because  they  did  repose 
Full  confidence  in  all  nor  did  impose 
The  slightest  toll  for  their  good  deeds,  —  poor 

souls, 
Led  by  a  thousand  hopes,  lured  by  a  thousand 

goals, 

Torn  from  their  moorings,  drifting  on  every  sea, 
Blown  by  every  wind,  refused  at  every  lee ; 
Oh,  Goddess  of  redeeming  Love,  once  let 
On  these  unfortunates  thy  sunbeams  set, 

[103] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

And  all  the  joy  and  peace  and  rest  and  calm 

Will  settle  in  their  breasts  like  healing  balm 

Upon  a  sore  and  bleeding  wound.    As  shades 

Steal  softly  on  the  evenfall,  when  maids 

Weave  garlands  in  the  thickness  of  a  wood, 

While  softly  hums  the  King  of  Solitude 

His  favorite  tune,  or  as  a  gentle  breeze 

Calms  down  a  storm  upon  the  raging  seas, 

So  thy  beneficent  influence  descends, 

Like  dew  from  heaven,  and  in  mercy  sends 

Into  each  aching  heart  a  ray  of  joy, 

A  wish  to  grow  and  build  but  not  destroy, 

So  that  all  souls,  by  evil  erst  obsessed, 

Find  peace  and  good-will  and  everlasting  rest. 

Oh,  Goddess  of  redeeming  Love,  I  pray 
Abide  with  me  forever  from  this  day, 
For  like  unto  the  music  of  the  spheres, 
Or  as  the  starry  sky  to  which  adheres, 
A  faint  pink  stria  of  the  northern  lights, 
As  the  Aurora  in  the  arctic  nights, 
As  the  great  mysteries  of  heaven 
Which  ne'er  by  mortal  gaze  were  riven, 
Thou  art  to  me  a  prize  above  all  worth, 
By  which  I'll  scale  to  heav'n,  or  conquer  all  the 
earth. 


[104] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 


God  and  Man 
A  PARABLE 

A  CHILD  was  playing  on  an  ancient  shore, 
And  built  his  youthful  hopes  upon  the  sand. 
Transparent  shells  and  pebbles  of  all  shades 
He  gather 'd,  and  with  painful  patience  made 
Himself  a  little  house.    Then,  wondering 
At  his  creation  wherewithal  he  was 
"Well  pleased,  he  looked  exultant,  and  in  prayer 
His  lips  besought  a  blessing  from  his  God. 

Thereat  a  gentle  wind  arose  and  blew 
The  structure  down,  and  from  the  placid  sea 
A  rolling  wavelet  came  and  carried  off 
The  pebbles  and  the  shells.     Which  when  the 

child 
Observed,  he  went  home  sighing  and  in  tears. 

In  that  same  land  a  man  reared  up  his  home, 
And  made  it  happy  for  his  wife  and  kin. 
Eight  healthy  children  played  about  his  hearth 
That  warmed  the  cheerful  chambers  with  its  glow. 
Mirth,  song  and  dance  cheered  every  gladsome 
heart, 

[105] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

And  cakes  and  viands  ever  filled  the  board. 
His  ground  did  yield  him  plenty,  while  the  bins 
Were  overfilled  with  grain.    The  pens  were  full, 
And  in  the  stalls  the  cattle  multiplied. 
Then  from  the  fullness  of  his  heart  the  man 
Thanked  his  Creator,  and  in  prayer  craved 
That  peace  may  bless  this  house. 

The  which  when  done, 
Dearth  settled  on  the  land  and  hunger,  all 
The  cattle  died,  no  sheep  were  left,  the  grain 
Did  rot  within  the  seed.    Then  sickness  came 
And  bore  the  children  off;  the  mother  soon 
Died  of  her  grief.    Then  with  a  heavy  heart 
The  man  sought  out  his  solitary  bed. 

There  in  that  kingdom  was  a  mighty  king 
Who  swayed  his  sceptre  over  half  the  world. 
Great  cities  were  in  his  dominion,  while 
Great  sea-ports  were  upon  his  shores.     His  were 
The  richest  treasures  in  the  land,  and  from 
All  quarters  he  of  tithe  and  tax  received. 
Commerce  and  industry  to  full  extent 
Beneath  him  prosper 'd,  and  his  people  were 
Full  satisfied  and  in  their  station  pleased. 
Then  this  great  king  erected  monuments 
And  arches  to  commemorate  his  reign, 

[106] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

And  order 'd  roads  and  bridges  to  be  built 
And  strongholds,  towers  and  castles,  that  he  may 
His  empire  strengthen  and  extend  the  more. 
Then  when  he  saw  that  all  was  fair,  and  he 
Was  overwhelmed  with  joy,  he  thanked  his  God 
For  His  great  bounty  and  in  prayer  invoked 
A  blessing  for  his  kingdom  and  himself. 

The  which  when  done,  a  pestilence  fell  on 
The  land  and  many  people  died.    Whole  towns 
Were  desolate,  and  cities  empty  stood. 
In  which  distress,  with  fire  and  sword  and  war's 
Great  plague,  barbaric  hordes  arrived  and  took 
Possession  of  the  luckless  realm.    The  king, 
By  sorrow  bent,  hid  in  the  secret  caves 
Among  the  hills  and  led  a  hermit's  life. 

That  hour  the  spirit  of  God  did  manifest 
Itself  to  the  bereaved  king  and  through 
A  vision  of  the  night,  when  on  all  men 
Sleep  f alleth,  He  thus  spake  to  him  and  said : 

' '  Because  thou  hast  forgot  the  Kingdom  that 
Is  not  of  earth,  and  hearkend  'st  not  unto 
The  Voice  that  calleth  toward  greater  life, 
But  in  thy  earthly  realm  thou  though 'st  to  find 
The  limit,  and  thy  rule  the  rule  of  God, 
Thy  pow'r  the  equal  of  His  power,  thy 

[107] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Arm  His  arm,  thy  will  His,  be  therefore  all 
Thy  days  bereft  of  pow  'r,  and  to  thine  own 
Shalt  never  come.    Thy  people  shall  be  slaves 
To  strangers,  and  thy  land  a  subject  state. 
So  that  henceforth  thou  mayst  acknowledge  thy 
Creator  and  a  greater  pow'r  than  thine." 

At  that  same  hour  the  Spirit  of  God  ap 
peared 

Before  the  man  who  mourned  his  adverse  lot, 
And  in  a  nightly  vision  spake  and  said : 

' '  Because  thou  didst  consider  but  thyself, 
And  held'st  thy  welfare  paramount,  but  all 
Things  else  thereto  subservient,  nor  didst 
Bethink  of  others'  lives  or  comforts,  nor 
Of  widows,  orphans,  or  the  homeless  poor, 
Be  therefore  robbed  of  all  thy  wealth  and  kin ; 
The  earth  be  fruitless  in  thy  hands,  thy  folds 
In  death  shall  multiply,  and  thine  own  days 
Be  cheerless,  rayless,  colorless  and  cold." 

At  that  same  hour  the  Spirit  of  God  ap 
peared 

In  dream  before  the  youth  whose  hopes  were 
mined 

Upon  the  sandy  beach,  and  to  him  said : 

[108] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

"Since  young  and  inexperienced  thou  hast 

been, 

And  innocent  in  thy  play,  I  shall  uphold 
Thee  in  thy  righteousness,  and  will  make  strong 
Thy  feeble  arm.    Into  thy  soaring  soul 
I  '11  breathe  the  genius  of  invention  that 
Will  herald  thee  a  leader  among  men. 
Then  every  day  wilt  thou  create  but  to 
Destroy  the  next,  to  prove  the  vanity 
Of  men.    Then  wilt  thou  know  that  not  on  earth 
Is  found  Perfection,  but  on  high,  in  God!" 


[109] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


The  Angel's  Feast 
A  PARABLE 

THE  King  came  to  the  feast  arrayed  in  gold 
And  purple,  in  full  state  with  retinue 
Attendant,  thinking  his  great  Chamberlain 
Presiding  at  the  feast,  as  advertised. 
And  he  it  seemed  in  truth  who  at  the  head 
Of  the  assemblage  sat  distributing 
High  honors  to  all  guests,  according  their 
Degree  and  station,  and  when  he  the  King 
Espied  he  rose  straightway  advancing, 
Bowing  thrice  and  kissing  thrice  the  regal  hem, 
Then  bade  him  to  the  seat  of  honor  at 
His  right. 

THERE  lived  an  only  son 

By  whom  the  King  hoped  to  attain  the  height 
Of  earthly  power,  and  whose  youthful  brow 
He  dreamed  to  see  crowned  ruler  of  the  world. 
He  set  aside  for  him  great  stores  of  wealth 
And  treasures  fabulous,  for  well  he  knew, 
Or  hoped  at  least,  that  these  would  multiply 

[1 10] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

Into  a  countless  measure.    Thus  was  great 
The  King's  chagrin,  and  greater  still  his  '.vrath, 
When  on  another  road  his  son's  feet  walked, 
And  when,  sad-eyed  and  tearful,  he  looked  not 
For  glory  upon  earth  but  far  above. 

The  old  King  then  cast  off  his  only  son, 
And  banished  him  beyond  his  realm,  his  name 
Nor  speaking  nor  allowing  anyone 
The  mention  of,  but  punishing  with  death 
Whomever  so  his  ruler  disobeys. 

HENCE  at  this  feast  none  dared  the  slightest 

hint 

Of  reconcilement,  or  the  pleasure  mar 
Of  the  festivities  by  reference  to 
The  banished  one. 

YET  when  the  cups  were  full, 
And  high  the  note  of  mirth  resounded,  came, 
None  could  say  whence,  or  how,  a  mendicant, 
Clad  all  in  black,  who  at  the  door,  with  hand 
Outstretched,  with  lowly  and  submissive  mien, 
Stood  muttering  these  enigmatic  words : 
"For  those  much  poorer  than  myself  I  gather, 
Though  of  me  to  receive  are  none  too  rich. ' ' 

[in] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

And  when  the  Chamberlain  espied  him  he 
In  haste  arose  and,  walking  tow'rd  the  door, 
Full  seven  times  most  reverently  bowed, 
And  seven  times  he  kissed  the  hermit 's  robe, 
Thus  saying;  "Lord,  the  earth  is  blesse'd  in  Thee, 
And  Heav'n  is  purer  for  Thy  living  Light. 
May  it  please  Thee,  Master,  to  adorn 
My  humble  board,  and  with  Thy  radiance  grace 
My  poor  festivities." 

WHICH  saying,  he 

The  mendicant  conducted  to  the  head 
Of  the  glittering  table,  and  his  own 
Seat  yielded  unto  Him,  himself  then 
Seating  to  the  left. 

WHICH  when  the  King  beheld, 
He  rent  his  clothes,  and  smote  the  table  with 
His  sword,  while  on  his  brow  the  night-black 

scowl 
Spoke   louder  of  his   wrath  than   aught   could 

speak, 

Although  with  words  of  thunder  he  consigned 
To  death  the  man  who  dared  his  banished  son 
Thus  honor  and  receive. 

[112] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

' '  MY  servant,  though 

The  trustiest  and  beloved  the  most,  is  not 
Exempt  from  my  immutable  decree, 
And  though,"  so  said  the  King,  "the  earth  and 

heav  'n 
May  change,  my  law  remains  unchangeable. ' ' 

But  when  the  ruler's  henchmen  came  to  lay 
Their   hands   upon   the   man    condemned,    they 

found 
Him  not,  but  only  saw  his  vacant  chair. 

Then  knew  they  all  that  the  great  Chamber 
lain 
Was  but  an  holy  angel  in  disguise. 

.tfirv  ':s  by  nni 

(And  a  Spirit  passed  before  me;  the  hair  of  my 
flesh  stood  up).  Job,  iv.,  15. 

ONE  long  eternity  came  to  an  end, 

Another  was  upon  the  way, 

Comprising  not  a  single  day, 
For  now  the  cold,  black  Sun,  extinct,  could  send 

Into  dark  space  no  faintest  ray. 
Freed  from  the  iron  rule  at  last  which  bound 
Her  to  her  lord  and  master, 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

The  Earth  rushed  madly  through  immensity, 
Forming     close     friendship     with     the     worlds 

around, 
And  bringing  fresh  disaster, 

Like  some  wild  thing  with  a  wild  propen 
sity, 

.     On  all  opposing  spheres. 
Colliding  oft,  she  brushed 
The  orbs  aside,  and  crushed 
The  smaller  ones  to  dust ; 

As  when  a  spectre  black  appears, 
Aflame  with  rage  and  lust, 
And  terrorizes  all  within  its  reach, 
So  came  the  Earth,  through  some  unguarded 

breach 
In  Night's  dark  battlements,— 

Charred,   burned,    seared,    a   great   revolving 

coal, 

Out  of  some  hideous  Cosmic  hole, 
Toward  no  definite  goal, 

A  maddening  terror  to  the  universe, 

A  black-plumed  page  before  the  planetary 

hearse, 

A  herald  from  the  Plutonian  settlements. 
All  life  as  life  is  known  was  long  since  dead, 
The  seas  evaporated,  while  the  air 

["4] 


Snapped  in  one  sheet  of  flame,  destroying  all. 
The  Moon's  black  skeleton,  no  longer  led 

By  a  restraining  hand,  at  last  could  dare 
An  independent  course,  —  an  independent 

fall! 

The  moon,  so  long  the  earth's  concomitant, 
So  long  her  constant  ornament, 
Chafing  and  yearning  underneath  the  yoke, 
At  last  her  ancient  obligations  broke, 
And,  at  a  hyperbolic  tangent  hurled, 
Became  an  independent  world; 
Revolving  in  the  hemispheres  alone, 
Though  cold  and  lifeless  as  a  stone. 
And  as  a  wild  stampeding  herd 

Breaks  from  its  prison  loose, 

Without  a  reason  or  excuse, 
Save  that  one  common  impulse  stirred 

And  spurned  them  on  to  liberty  or  woe, 
So  at  the  first  rebellious  word, 
Unspoken  but  inferred, 
The  whilom  planetary  system  ceased 

Around  the  once  illustrious  sun  to  go, 
But  with  a  speed  a  thousandfold  increased 

Precipitously  led  a  fearful  rout, 

And   wander 'd,   comet-like,    in   error   and   in 
doubt, 

Each  separately  the  universe  about. 

["Si 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Creation  once  again  was  at  its  ebb, 
With  everything  entangled  in  a  web 
Of  hopeless  ruin  and  ceaseless  strife, 
Which  made  impossible  all  forms  of  life. 
And  Havoc  held  supremest  sway 
On  the  once  famous  Milky  Way, 
Dispersing  to  the  farthest  realms  of  Night 

The  star-dust  of  the  stars  unformed, 
Destroying  every  particle  of  light, 
And  driving  the  nebula  before  the  wind, 

Decrepit  and  deformed, 

Like  some  lost  souls  that  hopelessly  have  sinned. 
The  myriad  stars  were  dead,  extinct, 

And  in  the  inky  firmaments 
No  single  object  seemed  distinct ; 

The  shroud-like,  dark  habiliments 
Of  night  eternal  all  the  worlds  enveloped, 
While  Chaos  his  vast  rule  again  developed, 
Making  great  ruin  his  greatest  joy, 
So  all  the  universe  he  may  destroy. 
And  in  that  thick  Cimmerian  darkness  tlit 

My  own  unconscious  Self, 

A  hopeless,  buffeted  elf, 
From  the  eternal,  into  the  infinite. 

Eternities  now  mark  the  day 

Since  in  a  form  of  clay 

My  soul  imprisoned  lay. 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

VEEOACH  AL  PONI  YACHLOV; 

Then  a  Spirit,  passed  before  me. 

It  stood  still,  as  if  it  would  restore  me 

To  a  momentary  consciousness. 
Unspeakable  terror  held  me  fast 
While  this  strange  apparition  passed, 

Out  from  vacuity  and  into  emptiness, 
Upon  far-reaching  wing, 
A  solitary  thing, 

Above  the  surface  of  the  waters  floating, 
And  with  its  wings  the  surface  smoting, 

Calling  upon  Chaos  to  give  up 

From  his  vast  realm  a  single  drop, 
Wherewith  a  new  Creation  to  begin 
Out  of  a  primitive  origin. 
And  then  a  red  flash  glimmered  far  below,  - 
A  very  distant  crimson  glow, 
Accompanied  by  detonations  loud  and  fierce, 
Just  as  two  darkling,  wandering  spheres 
Collided  with  such  fearful  force 

That  shattered  one  orb  into  meteoric  hail, 

The  new-made  earths  in  future  to  assail, 
And  sent  the  other  on  its  course 

Of  fire  and  life,  and  love  and  hate, 

And  every  planetary  state,  — 
A  world  created  out  of  Death 
By  virtue  of  the  still,  creative  breath. 

["7] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


A  Snake  Song 

LIGHT  green  and  heliotrope, 

Bright  red  and  blue, 
All  woven  in  a  rope, 

Gold  shinging  through ; 
This  is  thy  magic  coat, 

Thy  beauty  this, 
Child  of  an  age  remote, 

Stranger  to  bliss. 

Rock  thee  and  go  to  sleep, 

Child  of  the  wild, 
Let  chimes  of  music  keep 

Thee  undefiled ; 
For  thee  let  sunshine  be 

All  unrestrained, 
Freedom  and  liberty 

Thine  have  remained. 

Let  venom  cease  to  make 

Thy  life  so  sad, 
And  let  thy  sharp  fangs  break 

Learn  to  be  glad  ; 

[118] 


Truce  to  thy  enmity, 
Truce  to  thy  strife, 

Peace  and  security 
Enter  thy  life. 

Light  green  and  heliotrope, 

White,  red  and  blue, 
Symbol  of  life  and  hope, 

Constant  and  true; 
Throw  off  thy  magic  coat, 

In  the  sun's  light, 
Child  of  an  age  remote, 

Child  of  the  night. 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


A  Parisian  Lay 

PARIS  breathes  and  Paris  lives, 
Life  and  joy  she  ever  gives ; 
When  her  sons  are  far  away, 
Then  they  have  a  jolly  day. 
Paris  first  and  Paris  last,  — 
Come  what  may  when  life  is  past ! 

Is  there  greater  bliss  than  this, 

When  a  maiden  grants  a  kiss? 

All  in  heaven  or  in  hell 

Is  not  worth  that  magic  spell ! 

Then  let  priests  preach  what  they  will. 

Ruby  lips  cannot  be  still ! 

Nectar  for  the  gods,  but  mine 
Shall  be  women,  song  and  wine ! 
Sing  a  song  of  woman's  praise, 
Glorify  her  in  your  lays, 
For  she  rules  the  earth  and  sea, 
Gods  and  stars,  and  you  and  me ! 

[120] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

Paris  breathes  and  Paris  lives, 
Life  and  joy  she  ever  gives ; 
When  her  sons  are  far  away, 
Then  they  have  a  jolly  day. 
Paris  first  and  Paris  last,  — 
Come  what  may  when  life  is  past ! 


[121] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


Ships  of  the  Sea 


DARKNESS  and  Night  and  the  interminable  Sea, 

Hurricanes,  tempests,  far  off  from  the  lee : 

'Mid    thunder    and    lightning    on    mountainous 

waves 
Two  ships  pass  each  other  like  ghosts  from  the 

graves. 

Then  darkness  again  and  the  night, 
And  the  sea  in  its  furious  might. 

II 

Darkness  and  Life  and  the  sea  of  distress, 
Error,  confusion  no  tongue  may  express ; 
'Mid  terror  and  anguish  on  billows  of  flame 
Two  lives  pass  each  other  like  pawns  in  a  game. 
Then  darkness  again  and  the  sea 
That  affords  not  a  sheltering  lee. 


[122] 


To 

AN  ACROSTIC 

CYELESTIAL  light  streamed  forth  most  gloriously 
Below  and  above  God's  wondrous  throne  when 

He, 

Of  creatures  beautiful,  created  thee. 
Delicate  and  mellow  sang  the  angel  choir 
Resplendent  hallelujahs  as  the  fire 
Of  the  illustrious  sun  illumed  the  sky, 
While  calling  hosts  in  unison  did  cry 
Unto  the  Deity  hosanna,  hail ! 
And  far  o  'er  earth  and  heaven  did  prevail 
The  marvelous  intelligence  of  thy  birth, 
And  to  the  sun  and  stars  was  known  thy  worth, 
As  at  some  oriental  shrine  a  prize 
Is  held  most  sacred  by  a  million  eyes. 
Bi/  just  as  many  eyes  observed,  when 
Providence  thy  soul  sent  down  to  men, 
Thou  cam'st,  a  gift  from  heav'n,  a  pearl  most 

rare, 

Chiseled  and  formed  most  perfectly  and  fair, 
By  all  the  Graces  bless 'd,  thyself  a  Grace, 

[123] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

Pure  Jove  the  charm  of  thy  fair,  Grecian  face ; 
Of  all  interminable  blessings  thou 
Takest  precedence,  as  all  men  will  allow, 
My  heart 's  balm  ever,  and  my  refuge  now. 

To  find  the  name  in  this  acrostic,  count  one  letter  from  left 
to  right  for  each  succeeding  line  to  the  seventh  line,  beginning 
with  the  first  letter  of  the  first  line,  second  letter  of  the  second 
line,  etc.,  from  the  eighth  line  count  backwards  to  the  left  in 
the  same  way,  one  letter  less  for  each  succeeding  line  to  the 
fourteenth  line,  then  back  again  to  the  right  one  additional 
letter  for  each  line  following  to  the  end. 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 


"C'Est  Moin  Qui  Te  Ka  Lave." 

(IT  WAS  I  WHO  WASHED  FOR  YOU). 

' '  C  'est  moin  qui  te  ka  lave, 
Passe,  raccommode : 
Ye  te  nef  he  disoue 
Ou  mette  moin  derho  — 
Yche  moin  assous  bouas  moin ;  — 
Laplie  te  ka  tombe ;  - 
Lef  an  moin  assous  tete  moin ! 
Doudoux,  ou  m  'abandonne ! 
Moine  pa  ni  pesonne  pou  soigne  moin." 

It  was  I  who  washed  for  you, 

Mended,  ironed,  worked  at  night, 
Loved  too  much  and  loved  too  true, 

When  you  put  me  out  of  sight  — 
Late  at  night  you  put  me  out, 

With  my  child  upon  my  breast ! 
And  I  wander  still  about, 

While  the  wind  gives  me  no  rest ! 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

This  straw  mattress  on  my  head 
Is  my  poor  and  only  bed ! 
Must  I,  love,  abandoned  be! 
Who  is  there  to  care  for  me  ? 


[126] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 


"I  Am  Dimpled,  Young  and  Fair." 

"Moin  toutt  jeine'* 

Gouos,  gouos,  valiant, 

Peau  di  chapoti 

Ka  f  ai  plaisi ; 

Lapeau  moin 

Li  bien  poli ; 

Et  moin  ka  plai 

Menm  toutt  nhomme  grave ! ' ' 

(Translation) 

I  am  dimpled,  young  and  fair, 

Round-limbed,  strong  and  debonair, 

With  sapota-skin  of  gold 

That  is  lovely  to  behold ; 

Sweet  and  chique  and  good  to  see, 

All  men  love  to  look  at  me. 

*  In  Martinique  patois. 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


Though  of  Silver  and  Gold 

THOUGH  of  silver  and  gold  I  am  offered  great 
treasure, 

And  rubies  and  diamonds  are  mine  if  I  ask, 
Yet  I  find  not  therein  either  glory  or  pleasure,  — 

The  trinkets  would  make  but  a  hideous  mask. 

For  I  have  for  my  love  all  the  gods  have  created 
In  one  only  person,  a  marvel  to  see ; 

But  a  look  or  a  smile  and  my  soul  is  all  sated,  — 
One  kiss,  and  creation  is  nothing  to  me. 

Oh,  ye  wise  ones  of  old  and  ye  men  of  the  present, 

I  point  to  a  parable,  look  and  behold ! 
The  silver-winged  bird  and  the  bright  golden 

pheasant, 

Gave  you  them  their  silver,  or  gave  you  the 
gold? 


LYRICS,  PAEABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 


La  Martinique 

LA  MARTINIQUE  is  bright  and  gay, 

Long  live  the  Queen, 
'Tis  well  to  watch  her  all  the  day, 

Long  live  the  Queen; 
For  if  you  watch  not  day  and  night 
She  may  be  captured  by  the  spright 
That  lives  beyond  the  pale  of  light  — 

Long  live  the  Queen,  long  live  the  Queen. 

All  eyes  are  on  La  Martinique, 

Long  live  the  Queen, 
Because  the  rose  is  in  her  cheek, 

Long  live  the  Queen; 
Her  lips  are  like  the  amethyst 
That  ne  'er  by  mortal  man  were  kissed 
Because  she  never  kept  a  tryst  — 

Long  live  the  Queen,  long  live  the  Queen. 


[129] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 


Cambronne 

Cambronne,  O  Cambronne, 
Sweet,  O  sweet  is  Cambronne ! 
See  her  walking  in  the  garden, 
Begging  everybody's  pardon, 
Lovelier  than  roses  far, 
Fairer  than  the  fairest  star, 
Would  she  kiss  me?    Ah,  oh,  nay 
Yet  she  whispered  that  I  may  — 
Cambronne,  sweet  Cambronne! 


[130] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

To  Hon.  Simon  Wolf 

(On  the  occasion  of  his  85th  birthday). 

O  STATESMAN,  Philosopher  and  Sage, 
Now  crowned  with  the  radiance  of  age, 
And  with  the  glory  of  service  to  mankind, 
Richly  endowed  with  heart  and  soul  and  mind 
So  deep  and  sublime,  so  full  of  love 
For  beast  and  man  below,  for  God  above, 
Who  crowded  so  his  life  with  good  deeds  done, 
Who  fought  all  evil  and  in  fighting  won, 
Who  served  his  country  and  served  it  well, 
So  as  the  gratitude  of  men  compel, 
Let  all  do  honor  to  whom  honor's  due,  — 
We  honor  but  ourselves  in  hon'ring  you ! 
For  when  men's  deeds  shall  counted  be  in  heav'n, 
And  in  the  balance  weighed,  it  will  be  given 
To  you,  dear  Sir,  defender  of  the  Truth, 
Protector  of  the  weak,  aye,  father,  in  sooth, 
Of  countless  orphans  and  the  widowed  poor, 
To  you  it  will  be  given,  to  be  sure, 
To  have  been  a  champion  of  Right, 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

A  Beacon  on  the  embattlements  of  Night, 

A  haven,  refuge  and  Sanctuary 

For  the  oppressed  in  humanity, 

That  all  may  sing  in  song  the  worth  of  you, 

And  love  and  honor  you  as  are  but  few. 


[132] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 


Epigrams 

I 

THE  clouds,  though  mute, 
Their  own  salute, 

And  often  meet  each  other; 
But  people  don't, 
Or  can't,  or  won't, 

Salute  or  greet  a  brother. 

II 

The  crow  caws  hoarse, 
Which  is,  of  course, 

Its  nature  so  to  do ; 
But  Nature  can 
Improve  on  man,  — 

At  least  on  me  and  you. 

Ill 

The  ant  and  bee, 
Mysteriously, 

Have  learned  the  art  of  thrift; 
But  none  the  less, 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

We  must  confess, 

Know  nought  of  shirk  or  shift. 

IV 

Behold!  a  star 
Is  very  far 

From  earthly  toil  and  woe ; 
Yet  who  would  care 
The  change  to  dare, 

And  be  a  star  aglow  ? 

V 

The  sun  is  bright, 
But  not  at  night, 

And  heats  in  summer  most; 
Yet  we  complain, 
And  call  insane, 

An  erring  human  host. 

VI 

The  rain  and  snow 
Will  come  and  go, 

The  tides  will  rise  and  fall ; 
Yet  not  one  man 
Pursues  this  plan, 

But  waits  till  some  one  call. 

[134] 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

VII 

A  mountain  lay 
Right  in  the  way 

Of  one  ambitious  soul ; 
But  did  it  not, 
Then  on  that  spot 

Would  be  a  fearful  hole. 

VIII 

Why  shall  not  men 
Both  now  and  then 

Bear  spots  upon  their  name ; 
When  e'en  the  sun 
In  his  daily  run 

Eeveals  them  without  shame  ? 

IX 

One  thought  that  strife 
Alone  was  life, 

And  so  strove  on  amain ; 
But  when  his  strength 
Was  spent  at  length 

He  saw  that  strife  was  pain. 

X 

I  gave  good  day 

To  one  who  passed  my  way ; 

[135] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

But  he  looked  up, 

Then  let  his  eyebrows  drop: 
When  he  returned, 
His  insolence  I  spurned ; 

He  thanked  me  then, 

And  went  the  ways  of  men. 

XI 

One  drop  of  blood, 
One  grain  of  mud, 

A  careless  moment 's  plan  ; 
A  breath  of  God, 
A  stirring  prod, 

And  lo!  this  is  a  man ! 

XII 

A  fool  once  said 
He  '11  give  his  head 

If  hills  like  lambs  will  prance ; 
An  earthquake  came 
And  made  the  same 

Like  ewe-lambs  hop  and  dance. 

XIII 

There  was  a  sage 
In  a  distant  age 

Who  dealt  in  wisdom 's  stock ; 


LYRICS,  PARABLES  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 

Wherefore  he  starved, 
And  then  was  carved 

Upon  a  marble  block. 

XIV 

One  mustard  seed 
Filled  all  the  need 

Of  one  little  creeping  thing; 
Yet  came  a  foe 
With  wail  and  woe, 

And  killed  it  with  its  sting. 

XV 

A  child  once  sought 
To  know  the  thought 

Of  older  ones  than  he ; 
He  tried  and  tried 
Until  he  died 

At  the  age  of  four  score  three. 

XVI 

He  said  his  life 
Wasn't  worth  a  fife 

If  she  will  not  be  his ; 
She  proved  him  true 
By  a  fond  adieu ; 

His  epitaph  is  this : 

[137] 


THE  COVENANT  AND  OTHER  POEMS 

XVII 

Here  lies  a  man 
Who  lived  his  span,  — 

Else  would  he  not  have  died ; 
A  noble  youth 
Who  told  the  truth, 

E'en  when  he  should  have  lied." 

XVIII 

''Forgive  me  now, 
And  then  I'll  vow 

You  '11  never  have  to  more  ; ' ' 
She  meant  to  say, 
' '  Never  a  day 

Will  you  catch  me  as  before." 

XIX 

' '  Heavens ! ' '  she  cried, 
"I  never  lied, — 

I  only  white  lies  tell;" 
"You're  color-blind," 
Said  he,  ' 'I  find 

Your  white  as  black  as  hell!" 


[138] 


Was  faulty  at  its  best ; 
The  world  he  stalked, 
And  talked  and  talked, 

Till  he  became  a  pest. 

XXI 

The  cynic  said 
The  gods  are  dead, 

And  man  is  lifeless  dust ; 
Dust  in  his  eye 
Gave  him  the  lie, 

And  proved  that  God  is  just. 

XXII 

A  word  too  much, 
Like  a  broken  crutch, 

Is  worthless  at  its  best ; 
It  proves  quite  oft, 
Like  the  clown  aloft, 

A  sad  and  cruel  jest. 

XXIII 

Honor  and  fame 
Are  not  the  same, 

And  often  dwell  apart ; 
Veneer  outside 
Is  fame  and  pride, 

But  honor's  of  the  heart. 

[139] 


I1U|S  f ,M^RE£'ON.AL  .LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     0007  7275 


